


Jade Helm

by simonxriley



Series: The Tachanka And His Kotyonok [1]
Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Age Difference, Developing Relationship, Dialogue Heavy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hand Jobs, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Oral Sex, Platonic Relationships, Pre-Outbreak, Self-Indulgent, Some Humor, Tachanka is a sweetheart, The Author Regrets Nothing, Vaginal Sex, i love them okay?, in some parts, no one messes with overprotective tachanka, to post outbreak, unprotected sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2019-09-25 07:21:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 82,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17116943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simonxriley/pseuds/simonxriley
Summary: FBI SWAT Skylar “Phoenix” Jackson is the newest member of Team Rainbow. Between doing a job she loves and a blossoming relationship between her and Spetsnaz operator Tachanka, who helps her comes to terms with past problems, she finds herself in a life full of bliss. However, when a sudden outbreak happens in Truth or Consequence, New Mexico, that blissful life just might go up in flames right in front of her eyes.The Outbreak will commence at chapter 18. For those who are wondering.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The first few chapters will be set pre-outbreak and will go into/post-outbreak. So that means you will get more other operators in the coming chapters. A little fyi Skylar has been a part of Team Rainbow for a few months but she’s still ‘new-ish’. And this is my first r6s fic since I’ve joined the fandom I’m a little nervous (as silly as that sounds) with how it’s going to do, so please go easy on me. I’m still testing the water here, but I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Translations: (I apologize if any of these are wrong I used google translate and we all know how reliable that is)  
> kotyonok - kitten  
> водка - vodka  
> Lyubimaya - darling or sweet one

Christmas was fast approaching and Skylar was nowhere near done buying presents for friends and family. Then again, she never even started. But with a final break from work, she finally has the time to do it. And she was happy that Ash was accompanying her. 

Ash was in the bathroom finishing up braiding her hair, while Skylar sat on her bed fumbling through her phone as she waited. Since it was going to be a busy day she thought it be best to just wear a pair of jeans, her checkered vans and a plain black t-shirt. 

She was far from excited for shopping so close to Christmas, the crowds, and the obnoxiously rude people weren’t her favorite things to deal. Traversing buildings, and being outnumbered sounded far better than deal with those things. 

“I’m almost ready.” said Ash as she came out of the bathroom and went to her dresser. Her red hair was in the usual messy side braid that she came to love. 

“You don’t need to rush Eliza, the longer the better.” She chuckled and locked her phone - setting it down next to her. 

She stood up to stretch, leg joints cracking back into place. The sun shined through the curtains, illuminating the small room they shared. It looked to be a nice day out, and no doubt cold as the arctic. 

“Of course that’s what you would say.” She scoffed and shook her head as she pushed in the last stud earring. “If you don’t want to go shopping, then why don’t you do it online?” 

Skylar sighed - walking over to where Ash was and leaned against the dark wooden dresser that was identical to hers. “I just wanna get off base for a bit, that’s all. You know how it gets being cooped up with some of the other operators.” 

Ash rolled her eyes and shook her head again. Her eyes scrutinizing Skylar more as she stared at her. “Or could it be the fact that you want to avoid Alexsandr?” 

Her head snapped over to her, mouth slightly agape. “Why would I be avoiding him?” 

She laughed, pushing herself from the dresser and walked to her bed where she sat down. Skylar fiddled with her hands, she knew what she meant by avoiding, it wasn’t hard to figure out what happened two nights ago. She walked over to her own bed and sat down across from her. 

“I think you had a little too much vodka at the holiday part and found yourself in his bed.” 

She groaned and scrubbed a hand down her face, then sighed in defeat. “Okay, yes I am avoiding him.” 

A small smile tugged at her lips as she thought back on that night. It was an annual holiday party where everyone was together, catching up with friends and having an all around good time. 

Skylar was looking forward to relaxing, having a few drinks and talking with friends. Her plan quickly went tits up when Alexsandr brought vodka to the party. Vodka was always Skylar’s kryptonite. She refrained at first, trying to occupy herself with talking with Meghan. 

Eventually her mind gave up on the drink and she started to enjoy her night some more. Then she heard that familiar Russian accent behind her. Next thing she knew she was in a corner of the room taking shots with him. She still couldn’t recall what happened before they made it to his room, but she could recall what happened in there. 

“So why exactly are you avoiding him? Is it because of the crush on Jordan you have?” She arched a brow in her direction. Skylar hated when Ash put her on the spot with personal matters, it always made her feel embarrassed. “Or was the sex really that bad?” 

She fell back onto her bed with a groan, looking up at the off white ceiling above. She sat up a moment later, looking Ash in the eyes. “No Ash, the sex was really really good. And I do not have a crush on Jordan.” 

“You can’t lie to me Sky, I’ve seen the way you look at him.” She leaned over, placing a hand on her knee and smiled at her. “Jordan can wait for now, but I don’t see why you’re avoiding someone because the sex was really good.” 

She looked down at the hand that rest on her knee, then up to the person it belonged to. Her red hair reflected the light coming in through the window, making look shinier than it already was. 

Her eyes darting to the window, looking out to see cumulus clouds drifting with the wind. She looked down at her hands, and finally sighed. “The last time I hooked up with someone, we both enjoyed it and I found myself going back to him again and again. In the end I got hurt and I don’t want that to happen again.” 

Ash retracted her hand and nodded. “You should probably tell him that instead of avoiding him. I’m sure he’ll understand.” 

Skylar looked up at her, a small smile tugging on her lips. As much as a pain in the ass Ash can be, she was a good friend who helped her when needed. “Yeah, I will. After shopping though.” 

“Whatever you say Sky.” 

She rolled her eyes and stood up, checking her hair to make sure it wasn’t too frizzy before grabbing her purse and black leather jacket at the edge of the bed. Pulling the jacket it on she zipped it up and tossed her bag over her shoulders. “Okay, I’m ready.” 

She turned to see Ash was ready and patiently waiting for her. Somehow she always ends being the last one ready, even when she’s the first to get ready. 

They started to make their way out of the base, but as soon as they rounded the corner leading to the front door, Skylar stopped in her tracks as soon as she saw Jordan in the hallway talking with Alexsandr. But before she could do anything Jordan spotted them. 

“Where are you girls going? And Phoenix, Tachanka has been looking for you.” 

Ash glanced over at her, giving her a small smile before walking over to where the guys stood. She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck as she too made way to where they stood. 

“We’re do some Christmas shopping together.” 

Jordan’s face lit up, making Skylar’s nerves, become more persistent. “Well that’s where I’m headin’. Why don’t we take the same car and go together?” 

“Sure, but don’t complain if we taking too long.” said Ash, shooting Jordan a look. 

He threw his hands up like he was surrendering, and chuckled. “I won’t, I won’t. If I do, you girls can use one of my exothermic charges on me, okay?” 

Skylar looked up at Alexsandr, giving him a sheepish grin before turning to Jordan. “I’ll hold you to that. Why don’t you guys head to the car, I need to talk to Alex.” 

She heard Jordan laugh as he and Ash walked out the door, leaving her and Alex alone in the hallway. She turned to him, her hazel eyes locking into his grayish-blue eyes. He stood 7 inches taller than her, but his stature made it seem twice as that. 

“I didn’t scare off the little kotyonok, did I?” He crossed his broad arms, smart phone in one of his hands. 

“No, you didn’t scare me off--.” 

“Then why have you been avoiding me.” 

Skylar darted her eyes to the ground, then back to his. She felt intimidated under his gaze, if it wasn’t his stature, it was his voice. “It’s complicated, I’ll tell you when I get back. I promise.” 

His arms fell to his side as he walked closer to her. He brought his hand up, moving a strand of chestnut brown hair behind her ear. His thumbed traced her jaw, and she saw the satisfied smirk on his face. It made her heart skip a beat, and her knees weak.

“Looking forward to it kotyonok, I’ll be sure to have another bottle of водка with me.” 

Skylar rolled her eyes at the suaveness in his voice. “You do know I don’t need alcohol to sleep with you again right?” 

Her eyes went wide at the words she just spewed out. 

Then she made a mistake by looking back up to the man in front of her. The big shit eating grin on his face made her both happy and angry all at the same time. 

“Lyubimaya I’ll see you tonight then?” 

“Yeah, you will.” She rubbed the back of her neck - smiling at him. “I should get going, I’m sure Thermite is driving Ash crazy.” 

“Mmm” 

She gave him one last smile before walking out the door. Upon walking outside she immediately saw Ash and Thermite waiting in Ash’s car by the front door. She was happy she parked away from it so they couldn’t see what just went on. 

She opened the passenger side door to get in and sat down with a sigh. 

“Make sure to bring some vodka, you’re gonna need it Phoenix.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is gonna pick up after this chapter, but the outbreak won’t be for a while since that’s gonna be the hardest for me to write. But don’t worry they’ll still have some hostages to save or bombs to defuse. Also apology’s for the little errors her and there it’s almost 3 in the morning and I was just over editing this. I hope you enjoy nonetheless and feedback is always appreciated.

“-So what’s the deal with you and Tachanka? Did you get on his bad side?” Thermite fixed his ‘bandages’ on his hand, as his eyes caught Skylar’s in the rear-view mirror.

She quickly looked away, eyes darting to look out the window. Watching the building’s of the city flow by as the car got closer and closer to their destination. She was happy Ash was driving and Thermite was in the back seat of her car.

“What do you mean?” She turned to look at him, eyebrow quirked. He was seated in the middle, legs spread a mile wide. She rolled her eyes at that and waited for his reply.

Jordan leaned back - crossing his arms as his eyes scrutinized Skylar more. He knew she was hiding something, and he knew she couldn’t keep the facade up for long. So he was going to let her have her fun.

“Oh, nothing. Just that Tachanka isn’t one to go looking for people and you seemed pretty smittened when you were around him.”

Her mouth fell open as she looked at the older man in front of her. The big gaping grin was starting to annoy her, but she was in no way going to tell Jordan the truth about what happened at the holiday party between her and Alexsandr.

It was times like these where it brought her back to her childhood, her older sister’s always pestering her about something. She missed them, quite a lot.

“I was not smitten. And why do you care so much Jordan?”

Skylar could see a small smirk starting to form on Ash’s face. She turned her attention back to Jordan who just shrugged his shoulders. “Just curious, we don’t need the FBI SWAT and Spetsnaz to be on each others bad sides because of something you did. Remember what happened between the GIGN and SAS?”

“This is completely different Jordan, just relax.” Ash shook her head and if Skylar could see her face she knows she also rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, everything is fine...well about to be fine between me and Alex.” She gave him a reassuring smile and turned back around in her seat.

“About to be fine?” He sighed and from the rear-view mirror she could see him scrub one of his bandage hands down his face. “What does that mean?”

She shook her head - looking out the window again to see they finally made it into the city. The brightness of the sun reflecting on the snow made the sky look crystal clear. It was days like these that reminded her of home. And for this time of year the traffic wasn’t as bad as she thought it was going to be. Now she just has to deal with at least 15 more minutes of Jordan’s antics until they hit the mall and hopefully he goes his own way.

“Look, Jordan. I understand you want to know what’s going on between me and Alex, but it’s pretty personal and I don’t feel comfortable sharing it.” She caught his reflecting in side view mirror, seeing the uncertainty etched on his face made her sigh.”It’s not going to affect anyone by the way, just me.”

The uncertainty quickly faded into a smile - he leaned forward in his seat, resting each elbow on the their seats. “Did someone get a little frisky with the lord?”

“Were you always this annoying?”

Jordan scoffed and leaned back in his seat rubbing at one of his wrists. “No. I’m just nosy, there’s nothing really going on in team rainbow and I figured if Tachanka is looking for you it might be worth finding out.”

He shrugged his shoulders and Skylar laughed, she turned around to look at him again, the one thing she like about Thermite was that he could be lighthearted when not on missions, and how he could just relax and not be professional at all hours of the day.

“Alright enough about me and Alex, who are you buying for?”

“Parents and I need to buy some personal stuff as well. What about you guys?”

Skylar turned to Ash, her attention still on the road in front of them. “Yeah Ash what are you buying?”

“Parents, grandparents and essentials for myself. What about you?”

“Parents, siblings, essentials, and probably some snacks.”

Eliza and Jordan nodded. The rest of the drive to the mall was relatively quiet and she was thankful he gave up on the issue between her and Alex. But Jordan was right about one thing, maybe she should pick up a bottle of vodka, she did kinda drink a lot of it, more so than Alex did. It would be the polite thing to do, then again she’s sure he has a secret stash for himself and for the rest of the Spetsnaz.

xXx

They ended up in some department store in the mall after nearly dragging Jordan away from some hardware store. Skylar and Ash both knew they wouldn’t be able to get him out of there if they left him be.

Skylar was pushing the shopping cart filled with what they were both buying. So far it was just essentials and the presents for Ash’s parents. Skylar was having trouble figuring out what to buy for her family. It didn’t help that they didn’t talk much with how much work has taken over her life and the time difference didn’t help either.

“Should I just pick up a damn gift basket and call it a day? I have no clue what to buy them.” She groaned and laid her head down on the handle of the cart.

“Well what do they like?” Ash turned to her with the coffee mug she was just looking at in hand. “I’m sure you’ll be able to think of something.”

“My parents would be happy with anything, but my sisters’ are harder to buy for. Ones a lawyer and the other is a therapist, what do I buy for them?” She glanced toward the shelves where all the coffee mugs were, most were holiday themed and some others were plain. Coffee mugs would make a good gift, or she could make them a customized gift basket of things they like. The latter seemed like a better option. “I think I’m just gonna make a customized gift basket for my sisters’ and pick out something nice for my parents.”

“That’s thoughtful and easy enough.” She placed one of coffee mugs in the cart, then looked around with a stern look on her face. “We’ve lost Jordan.”

Skylar shrugged. “Around here somewhere. Let’s get our stuff first before looking for him.”

“Yeah, good idea.”

They continued shopping around the store, picking up the things they needed or wanted. But still no sign of Jordan, they both hoped he was still in the department store and didn’t sneak away to the hardware store, which would be the better bet.

It couldn’t have been more than 30 minutes until they decided it was best to buy their stuff and put the bags in the car before looking for Jordan.

“Ash why don’t you check the department store and I’ll check the hardware one. And we are never going shopping with him again.”

“Ain’t that right and okay, meet me in front of the department store in an hour.”

Skylar nodded before departing. She quickly made it to the hardware store, luckily it wasn’t packed full of people so finding him should be easy. She began to look up and down the isles, hoping to catch a glimpse of a certain somebody. When she couldn’t spot him in any of the isles she went towards the back end of the store.

She let out a sigh of relief when she saw him. “There you are I was worried.”

Jordan turned around when he heard her voice, a cheeky grin graced his face. “Awe you were worried about me, how sweet!”

She hit his shoulder with enough force to make hims clutch it in slight pain….and shock.

“Well when you run off and don’t tell either Ash or me, yeah I get worried.” She pulled her phone from her pocket to message Ash. “We’re done by the way, what about you?”

“I still need to pick up some stuff at the department store.”

“Okay, I’ll tell Ash to wait in the car if she wants and I’ll wait for you.”

They began to walk towards the front of the store for him to buy what he came here for. “You don’t need to, I can find the car when I’m done.”

“Awe you don’t want to spend time with me? Ouch that hurts.” She chuckled and shook her head. “I need to go back anyways, I decided it would be nice to buy Alex another bottle, I did drink a lot of his at the holiday party.”

“Yeah I saw you in the corner with him taking shots.” She saw his eyes widen as realization took over his features. “You slept with him didn’t you? That’s why you were avoiding him.”

“Ugh fine, yes I did sleep with him. Happy now?”

  
“A little, but why are you avoiding him? Did someone not please you enough?”

She waited for him to be done with buying his stuff before answering him. They walked out into the mall - heading back towards the department store.

“That’s personal and he pleased me just fine.”

Skylar could tell he didn’t look convinced, but kept his mouth shut nonetheless. She followed him to the health and beauty section of the store, waiting for him to pick up what he needed.

They made their way to the Christmas isles, where Jordan was looking over the many different gift basket options. She was leaning against the isle, looking through her phone to pass the time. That’s when she notice she had a text from Jack, she opened it to see what he wanted.

“Hey do you mind picking up a bottle of Jack Daniels? I’ll pay you back?”

“Yeah, I can do that.” She put her phone back in her pocket and crossed her arms.

“So Skylar what made you join the marines? Truthfully you don’t seem like the military type.” He placed the shampoo bottle in the basket before turning to her.

“By the time I was a senior in high school my parents ended up going through a rough money patch and didn’t have enough to send me to college, so I decided the military could help with that. I joined when I was 17, did a few tours then went to college and got my degree in chemistry. I ended up getting into FBI SWAT because my commanding officer filed over my paper works from my two tours and I got a call not long afterwards.”

“Wait, so you were in the FBI SWAT while you were in college?”

“Yup. It was hard, but rewarding.”

“Well you did something right since you’re on team rainbow!”

Her mouth fell open and shock was etched onto her features. “Was that a compliment?”

“I do give compliments every now and then. When people deserve it.”

“Sure.” She scoffed.

They finally made their way over to the alcohol section of the store where she picked up a bottle of Jack and Vodka.

“Who the bottle of jack for?” Jordan judded his chin at the bottle in her hand.

“Pulse. He asked if I could pick him up a bottle.”

“Oh.”

xXx

They were finally back at the base and in their rooms putting their stuff away. Skylar sat on her bed, organizing the things she bought for her sisters’ before heading off to find Pulse and Alex.

“Do you think it’s tacky that I got them little storage bins to put their stuff in?” She looked over at Ash who was lying on her bed reading a book.

“No, it’ll be more durable in the mail and they can use it after.”

“True.” She got up to stretch, then grabbed the two bottles of alcohol. “I’m gonna get this over with.”

“Good luck!”

She rolled her eyes then headed out the door. She easily found Pulse in the cafeteria with Castle. She walked over and placed the bottle next to him. “Here you go.”

“You’re a lifesaver, thanks Skylar. Uh I don’t have my wallet on me, I can swing by your room later?”

“You can just give the money tomorrow, I have some unfinished business to attend.” She held up the bottle of vodka in her hand.

“Ah, okay. I’ll leave you too it then. And thanks again Skylar.”

“You’re welcome! And have a good rest of your day you two.”  
“Thanks!” They said in unison as she walked away from their table.

xXx

Skylar took a deep breath before knocking on Alex’s door. Her nerves were creeping up on her and the vodka bottle in hand was looking more and more tempting.

It couldn’t have been more than 5 seconds before the door opened, she looked up at him with a sheepish grin. He leaned against the door frame with a smirk on his face, looking her up and down. Without saying a word he grabbed her hand and pulled her into his room.

Now that she was sober, she could take in the fullness of his room. There wasn’t much, a laptop on the desk with a bunch of papers and a few pictures scattered around the room. But she envied that he didn’t have to share it with anyone, guess that’s the perks of being one of the older soldiers on base.

“Oh I bought you a new bottle since I felt kinda bad drinking a good chunk of yours.” She chuckled and handed it to him.

“You didn’t have to, I have a bunch hidden away but the gesture was nice.” He set the bottle on the desk before walking over to her. His hands grabbed her hips, stilling her where she stood. Her heart began to beat faster, palms becoming sweaty. He leaned down until he was mere inches from her face and feeling just his body heat radiating off himself was enough to make her want more. “Now is the kotyonok gonna tell me why she’s been avoiding me?”

Skylar let out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding in, and shook her head. She easily got out of his hold to walk over to his bed to sit down. Her fingers grazing the fabric of his blanket, though identical to hers it felt more appealing to the touch. A few seconds later he joined her.

“It has nothing to do with you, I really enjoyed that night, at least what I remember. Years ago there was this guy I was friends with benefits with, it seem like a good choice at the time until my feeling became a lot more prominent. I ended up getting badly hurt and vowed to myself I wouldn’t hook up with people again. That obviously didn’t work out well.”

She looked over at him to see he was nodding. He moved closer to her, trailing his fingers up her thigh until he came to her arm that rest there. “I would like for this to go on, but if you don’t want to I’m not going to force you too. That night was good kotyonok.”

“That’s the thing Alex, I do want this to continue.” She stood up, walking over to the mounted RP-46 degtyaryov machine gun that sat in the corner of his room. Her fingers grazed over the metal exterior of the gun. “Maybe I should just stop living in the past.”

She walked back over to him, straddling his muscular thighs and wrapping her arms around his neck. She leaned down, placing a firm kiss on his lips. His hands snuck beneath her shirt, feeling up every curve and scar she owned. He pulled away to take off her shirt, discarding it behind her on the floor.

Alex looked down at her neck - licking his lips before kissing his was down her jaw to the sensitive skin just below her earlobe. Skylar let out a soft moan, her hand fisting the white cotton shirt he was wearing. And in a single motion, one of his hands came up to unhook her bra. She let the material fall down her arms and into her lap before tossing it behind her.

“Ya khotel tebya ves’ den’” He whispered in her ear. She knew jack of what he was saying but she couldn’t deny that him talking in his native language always sent a shiver down her spine.

“I still have no clue what you’re saying.”

One of his hands lowered to the small of her back, easily flipping their positions. She landed with a soft thud, her eyes gazing into his. He leaned down, giving her a quick kiss. “I can teach you if you would like?”

“I think I would like that.” She smiled up at him, her hands trailing under his shirt, feeling his taunt abs beneath.

“Good, that’s going to have to wait. I have other plans for us tonight lyubimaya!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo I didn't expect this chapter to be over 5k words. Sorry about that. Anyways I hope to have a little bit more action in the next chapter, if not definitely the chapter after that. And I have an Ash/Thermite one-shot in the works, so keep an eye out for that. I hope you enjoy! Also don't know if Tachanka is a little ooc at the end or not cause I'm going with my headcanons.

Skylar’s eyes shot open when she felt something heavy drape over her waist, her eyes meeting the blank white wall in front of her. She cocked her head to look down at the arm that was draped over her waist - a small smile starting to tug on the corners of her lips. 

She momentarily forgot she wasn’t in her room, and that arm draped over her brought back some really good memories of last night. 

She settled back down, this time on her back, letting Alex’s arm rest on her stomach. She glanced to her left to see the older man sound a sleep next to her, his face relaxed and lips slightly parted. He looked peaceful. 

From the corner of her eye she saw a familiar black device lying between the sheets. She chuckled and picked up his smartphone - thinking he must have been browsing his favorite website and fell asleep. She easily unlocked his phone to confirm she was right, then locked it again. But could she really consider it ‘locked’? He doesn’t use a pin, all you have to do is swipe. 

She placed it under her pillow for safe keeping, she didn’t want him to lose it or accidentally break it. She placed an arm under her head and sighed, she felt like she should leave and give him his bed back as silly as it sounds. But she knew he wouldn’t be happy if she ‘ditched’ him like last time. 

The arm the rest on her stomach started to move, she looked over at him, just in time to see an eye peak open. “It’s late lyubimaya, go back to sleep we have training in the morning.” 

Alex pulled her closer to him, then closed his eye. Skylar smiled to herself and settled down in his arms. “You were the one that woke me up by throwing your arm on my waist.” 

He snuggled into the crook of her neck - Skylar hummed in response. “I’m sorry I startled you, maybe I could get Six to give me a bigger bed.” 

She snorted and turned around to look at him, both of his eyes were now open. He looked up and down her naked body, a smirk forming on his face. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Yeah I’m sure Six would agree to that once she finds out your true intentions. Besides, I think this bed is fine, we have enough room.” 

“That’s humble of you.” He sat up, letting the blanket fall into his lap. “I did not take you to be one.” 

Skylar arched a brow, she wasn’t sure how to take that assumption. She sat up, but kept the blanket wrapped around her body. “We we’re all raised differently, just because I come from an upper middle class family doesn’t mean I don’t know how to be humble.” 

“That came out wrong, I just meant……” 

“It’s fine Alex, I know I have a certain demeanor. I guess I’m so used to being a marine that I forget how to be….just, me.” She scrubbed a hand down her face, and sighed, then rest her back on the headboard. 

Alex leaned back against the headboard of his bed, his fingers tracing over one of her scars on her arm. “Let down that wall Sky, I’m not going to hurt you.” 

They locked eyes, sending a shiver down her spine. She wished it was that easy, to knock down any wall she had up for her own protection. She wanted too, wanted to fully let him in. Not be some distant wannabe. 

“I want too, I do. I like you, and I enjoy our nights together, it’s just I don’t know how too.” She gave him and apologetic smile, bring her knees up to her chest and hugging them. The feeling of being exposed….emotionally wasn’t something she liked, she liked to have that tough demeanor like Eliza does, not letting anything get to you. 

But this was different, Alex was the first person she slept with in years - igniting those feelings she’s always had for him. 

She looked up when she felt his hand rub up and down her bare back, trying to calm her down. It was weird seeing him being so caring, then again she’s only known him for 5 months and has only spoken to him a handful of times. 

“Seeing you like this, I realized we shouldn’t have slept together.” He leaned over, picking up her underwear and shirt. Then pulled on his own boxers. She felt hurt by that, was he regretting this now? Or was it something else?. She pulled her shirt on, then her underwear and sighed. “It’s evident that I like you, and it is evident that you have a big heart. Let’s get to know each other first, and take it from there, da?” 

“You’re sweet and I would like that. Truthfully I don’t want to exactly stop having sex, considering this is the best sex I’ve ever had. Maybe just cut down a little?” She chuckled as she looked up at him. His eyes softening under her gaze. 

“The best malysh? You are making this old man feel a lot better about pleasing his partner.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him. 

“Partner, huh? I thought we were only in it for the pleasure? And what does malysh mean?” She scrunched her face at the horrible pronunciation, she was in need of a ton of practice to sound more authentic. 

He let out a throaty laugh, making his broad chest move up and down. “I would like to be more, If you are okay with that. Malysh means baby.” 

“Baby!” She repeated the word, a small smile tugging on the corners of her lips. “I didn’t take you for a relationship guy. Why me? I’m the newbie, and there are so many other prettier women here.” 

“Yerunda!” His voice boomed in the small room, startling Skylar a little. “You’re beautiful, funny, and have lots of vigor in you. Are you saying I don’t have good taste in women? I would have to strongly disagree.” 

Skylar moved away to get a better look at him. She scanned his face looking for any indentation that he was lying. But his face stayed strong and sure, not once changing in any way. 

“No I’m not saying that, relationships haven’t been my strong suit. But thank you for that compliment.” 

“Those men were not that smart then.” He leaned forward until he was mere inches from her face. He could feel her breath on his nose, his eyes glancing down to her lush lips, then back to her eyes. “What do you say Sky? Are you willing to give me a chance?” 

She leaned forward even more, closing the gap between them with a firm kiss. Feeling him smiling into it, made her too. She broke the kiss with a laugh, a big smile gracing her face. “Yes, yes I am.” 

He kissed her forehead and hummed. “We should get some sleep, we have to be up in a few hours.” 

“Hmph. Okay.” She slid down until her back was against the mattress, readjusting the blanket around her. 

Alex followed suit, the bed dipping under his weight. Once he was comfortable enough Skylar snuggled up next to him. This time Tachanka shut off the light, engulfing the room in darkness. 

xXx

Skylar yawned as she stretched before her run, trying to limber up her sore limbs. Eliza was doing the same, and so was the rest of the SWAT team, luckily Jordan was too busy talking to Jack and Miles to ask about last night. 

“Since the boys are occupied are you going to tell me about last night? You didn’t come back so I figured you and Alex were having another wild night.” She smirked then glanced over to Alex who was also outside training with the rest of the Spetsnaz. 

Skylar too glanced over to him, a smile tugging at her lips. “We’re together. Like together together.” 

She stopped ogling over Alex and turned back to Eliza. Shock was shown on her face, along with some disbelief. It made her laugh. 

“I wasn’t expecting that, Tachanka doesn’t look like the serious relationship kind of guy. How’d that even go down?” She stopped her stretching, putting her full attention on Sky. 

“He saw that I was putting up a wall and that maybe hooking up wasn’t the brightest idea because of what happened in my past.” She glanced over at him again, seeing that he was in a midst of a conversation with Glaz. “I said I didn’t want to fully stop having sex since he was the best I’ve ever had..” 

“That probably boosted his ego.” 

“A little. He said that I was making an old man feel better about pleasing his partner. I thought we were just in it for the pleasure and he wanted to be more. Asked if I wanted to and I said yes.” 

They began a slow jog, trying to warm up their cold bodies and to keep their conversation afloat without being hassled by Jordan that they weren’t doing anything. Then again he was the one standing and talking with Jack and Miles. Not actually training like they were.

“Wow, are you sure though? I don’t want you to get in too deep and get hurt.” She gave her a small smile, then stopped jogging. Making Skylar stop too. 

Skylar looked down at the ground, contemplating her words for a moment. Eliza was her first friend since joining, and no doubt her closes. But seeing her be concerned over it made her rethink. 

“I do like him...a lot. And he surprisingly seems to like me too. At this point I don’t want to miss out on something due to fear. If things don’t work out then they don’t.” 

Eliza smiled at her, this time it was genuine. “Good! I hope things work out between you two, just don’t ditch me every night so you can get in a little quickie.” 

“Thanks, I hope they do too. And I won’t be ditching you, ‘cause trust me I’m sore enough as it is. This girl needs a little break.” She chuckled, but it quickly faltered when she saw Jordan, Miles and Jack walking their way. “The boys are coming.” 

Eliza rolled her eyes - glancing behind her. Jack was the first to join them, resting his arm on Skylar’s shoulder. She scoffed and looked up at him, shrugging his arm off her shoulder. “I’m not an armrest you know.” 

“Sorry. What are you ladies talking about?” He glanced between them, then kept his eyes on Skylar. “I heard you and Tachanka had a fun night a few days ago?” 

She sighed then glared at Jordan. “Are you gonna tell everyone my business?” 

“No, just Jack and Miles.” He shrugged his shoulders, fueling Skylar’s rage a bit more. “And like he’s not telling Glaz, Kapkan and Fuze about the hook up. Everyone is going to know eventually.” 

“Skylar does have a point, you shouldn’t be telling her business to people.” Miles looked over at her and winked. “Your secret's safe with me.” 

“Thank you Miles.” She turned to Jack, looking up at him. “What about you?” 

“I don’t care either way, I was just interested if you actually fucked him or not.” 

“I can deal with that. Can we get back to training now? I feel weird talking about my sexual encounters.” 

“I was going to take a few laps around the track, you wanna join?” asked Jack looking down at Skylar. 

“Sure, I need to get the blood flowing it’s freezing out here. Eliza are you coming?” She turned to her, secretly hoping she would say yes. From her peripheral she could see Jordan and Miles heading back inside, probably towards the gym. 

“I’m going to pass this time. I’ll meet you in the gym for a sparring session later?” 

“Definitely, I’m gonna need one after Jordan’s shenanigans.” 

Eliza started to walk away…..”Okay, see you in a bit.” 

Skylar watched her walk back into the building, leaving her and Jack outside in the freezing cold. She rubbed her hands together to warm them up, even with her finger-less gloves on they were still freezing. 

“You want to jog to the track or walk?” She finally asked, looking back up at him. 

“Let’s walk.” He took a step forward, followed suit by Skylar. “You’ve been here what 5 months and I hardly know you.” He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I would like too, if you’re cool with that?” 

“We are team mates, we should get to know each other. We’ve been on how many ops and we’ve had like what 3 full conversations?” She laughed - glancing back over to where Alex was. He was wearing his camouflage balaclava, but she could still see that little smirk beneath it. 

“Yeah, but it can’t be easy being thrown into something like this at such a young age. How did you become a part of team Rainbow anyways?” 

“It was out of the blue, I was back in L.A doing some paperwork and I get a call, from Six. She read my files and thought I would be a good fit, recruited me right then and there.” She shrugged her shoulders - glancing over to him. 

“Nice, and you’ve been a nice addition to the team. And you’re one hell of a soldier, I can’t believe you took down nearly 30 guys single handedly when you were still in the marines. That’s crazy.” 

They made it to the track, starting off on a light jog as a warm up. Skylar could see the sun peeking behind some of the buildings, turning from night to day. She shook her head and scoffed. 

“That’s over exaggerating it, it was like 20 people tops. And the only reason it happened was because most of them were drunk. Also I wasn’t alone.” 

“Eh, well still, that’s still bad-ass.” 

“Thanks.” 

They started to pick up their pace, going from a light jog to a causal run. Both staying quiet for the time being. 

Growing up in Maine, Skylar was use to the cold and snow. Then again she had layers on, not some thin workout material and a beanie. But if she overdressed while working out she would get hot, going into a cycle of being too hot and too cold. And that was something she didn’t like. 

They did about 3 laps on the track, and she was a lot warmer than she was in the beginning. It was also getting late and she should head in to do her sparring session with Eliza. 

She went from sprinting to walking in the matter of seconds, making Jack stop and turn to her with and arched brow. 

“I think I’m gonna bail, I’m sure Ash is waiting for me. And I would like to get in a quick shower before breakfast.” 

“Okay, I’m gonna take another few laps and then get my weight lifting in. Thanks for the run.” 

“Anytime.” She smiled at him before departing back to the main building. 

On her way back she noticed that Timur and Maxim were the only ones outside still. No signs of Alex or Shuhrat. She didn’t think much of it, thinking they just went inside to get their other workouts in as well. 

She pulled open the door - being greeted by a rush of heat. Transitioning from a cold environment to a warm one always sent a shiver down her spine. She made her way towards the gym - upon rounding the first corner she spotted a familiar Spetsnaz soldier leaning against the wall with his balaclava in hand. 

He looked up from hearing her footsteps, a smile gracing his face. “Lyubimaya moya.” 

She returned the smile and walked over to him. “Were you waiting for me?” 

“Why else would I be waiting in this hallway?” His hand came up to cup her cheek, thumb caressing her cool skin. “You looked upset earlier, I wanted to make sure you are okay?” 

Skylar smiled, then kissed the inside of his palm before grabbing his hand and intertwining it with hers. “I’m fine, more annoyed than upset. Jordan thought he had the right to tell Jack and Miles that we slept together.” 

He gently pulled her down the hall towards one of the storage closets . She rolled her eyes and chuckled as he opened the door - pulling her inside, then shutting and locking it. 

She flipped the light switch, illuminating the dark room. 

She saw a bunch of random old desks, and a few old weaponry cases. She walked over to one of the desks, wiping the dust off of it and sat down. 

“Don’t let Jordan’s incompetence ruin your day.” He walked over to her, positioning himself between her legs. His arms on each side of her. 

“I’m not. I think he’s afraid that I’m going to screw something up and there’s going to be bad blood between SWAT and the Spetsnaz as silly as that sounds.” She scratched at her chin as she looked up at him. 

His brows furrowed in confusion - contemplating her words. “Why does he think that?” 

“When you were looking for me he thought I did something wrong. Why else would lord Tachanka be looking for me?” A scoff left her lips and she rolled her eyes once again. Something she’s been doing a lot of these past few days. “At the holiday party he saw us taking shots together, then put two and two together and figured it out. Maybe he thought telling Jack and Miles I wouldn’t do it again.” 

“We should take a video next time and send it to him. Showing his assessment was very wrong.” His hands grabbed her hips, pulling her towards the edge of the old desk. “Have you told anyone about us?” 

Her arms came up and wrapped around his neck, her fingers brushing through the short strands of hair. “That would be a great thing to do, send Jordan our sex tape and then everyone would have it.” 

Alex could hear the sarcasm in her voice, making him smirk. 

“So far I’ve only told Ash. What about you?” Her eyes widened, panic seeping in. “Shit, I forgot I was supposed to spar with her.” She groaned and scrubbed a hand down her face. “She’s gonna be pissed.” 

He moved to the side, motioning for her that it was okay to leave. “I do not want to keep you from your sparring session with Ash. We can pick this up later.” 

Skylar hopped down from the desk, a small apologetic smile on her face. “How about we pick this up during dinner?” 

“Ya by predpochel, chtoby ty na uzhin.” 

She crossed her arms and arched a brow. “You know I understood absolutely none of that. But judging by that smirk on your face it was something sexual.” 

He laughed in enthusiasm - cupping each side of her face and kissing her forehead. “I’ll see you at dinner. When should I meet you?” 

Alex watched her face contort in different facial expressions as she thought on that question, then her eyes locked onto his. “I don’t know, all I’m doing today is training with Eliza, shipping out the Christmas presents for my family and cleaning my guns. That’s only going to take me a few hours and it’s not even 7 in the morning yet.” 

“When you are done shipping out your families presents come to my my room, and bring your guns.” He let his hands drop down to her arms, his thumb caressing the nylon fabric of her shirt. 

“Okay, I’ll see you in a few hours then.” She tugged on his shirt, pulling him down to place a firm kiss onto his lips before departing out of the storage closet. 

xXx

Skylar was pulling off her finger-less gloves as she made it to the gym. Not many people were in it, surprisingly. She could see Elias being Dominic’s spotter while he did some weight lifting, and Jordan was running on the treadmill. Eliza was seated on one of the benches with her sparring sticks in hand, looking bored out of her mind. 

She walked over to her and sat down. “I’m sorry. He was waiting for me when I came in.” 

Eliza fiddled with the sparring sticks in her hands, then looked over to her with and arched brow. “He was waiting for you? It’s both disgusting and cute that you guys are in the honeymoon phase of your relationship.” 

“I forgot how the honeymoon phase felt.” She chuckled nervously - glancing over to Blitz and Bandit for a brief second. “I kind of hate it, ‘cause I want to spend a lot of time with him, but deep down I feel like I’m neglecting my friends.” 

She looked over at her, an apologetic smile on her face. 

Eliza laughed and swatted her hand in the air. “You’re making an effort now to be with a friend, so I don’t think you’ll have trouble dividing your time between the new boyfriend and friends.” 

“Thanks. Now you want to get to our sparring session? I kinda want to blow off some steam from earlier.” She shot Jordan a glare - shaking her head. 

“That would be great, unless you want to run off to your boyfriend.” 

Skylar grabbed her sparring sticks and stood up. “Ha ha, very funny. I’m seeing him later.” 

“Of course you are.” She stood up with a sigh. “Let’s go.” 

She followed Eliza to the mats, she needed to get her head back in the game, but her mind was clouded by Alex. She couldn’t have him being a distraction, even during harmless training with a friend. People are counting on her to have a clear head, and if she doesn’t people could get hurt or worse. 

She took a deep breath, clearing her mind. 

When she opened her eyes she saw Eliza was making the first move, Skylar quickly brought up her sparring sticks to block the incoming hit. The wooden sticks meeting together with a clank. Eliza smirked and back away a little. 

“Keep your head in the game Sky.” 

This time Skylar made the move, using agility more than strength. Eliza quickly anticipated the hit, bring the sticks up to block her chest, but at the last minute Skylar moved down to hit her in the stomach with enough force to heal her over. 

“What was that? I should keep my head in the game?” She arched a brow, only Eliza didn’t see with still being heeled over. Her face faltered, thinking she didn’t hit her that hard. She got closer to her, a hand brought out in an attempt to help. “Shit I didn’t mean…” 

Skylar landed on her back with a thud, her eyes looking up at the ceiling in shock. She took a few deep breaths, trying to regather hers. 

Next thing she saw was Eliza bent down over her body, a smirk gracing her face. She lended a helping hand. Skylar swatted it away with a scoff - standing up on her own. “Jeez, take me off guard why don’t you.” 

She rubbed at her chest trying to relieve the tight sensation in it. 

“At least I haven’t lost you completely.” 

“Can we just get back to this or are you going to beat me up some more?” She grabbed her sparring sticks off the ground - twisting them around. 

“I’m good, besides I’m sure you get quite a good pounding from Tachanka so I’ll go easy on you.” She arched her brows, egging Skylar on some more. 

She stared at her, mouth agape. “Well thank you for being so generous.” She rolled her eyes and laughed. “And last time I checked I was the one always winning.” 

Eliza narrowed her eyes, swinging her foot under Skylar’s leg making her unbalanced then with a single push, Skylar was flat on her back again. 

She groaned, slamming her hands down on the mat. 

“Maybe we should pick this up another time.” She held out a helping, this time Skylar grabbed it. “When you’re not acting all cocky.” 

She brushed herself off and scoffed. “Yeah, yeah. I have some presents to wrap and send out. I’ll see you later.” 

xXx 

The wrapping only took about 20 minutes, a little less with how fast she rushed it. All she wanted to do was get it done and ship it out back to Maine, knowing it probably won’t get there in time either way. 

Now she was heading to Alex’s room with her M1911 pistol and M4 machine gun that was in a desperate need of a cleaning. 

She rounded the corner leading to his room. With a closed fist she rapped on his door a few times. From inside she heard something drop and a loud ‘дрисня’, and by the sound of his voice was probably a swear. She chuckled to herself, trying to picture what he accidentally dropped. 

The door swung open, his face automatically softening upon seeing her. “I did not expect to see you so soon.” 

He moved to the side, letting her come in. She heard the door close behind her, then the lock. A quick glance to the floor to see if she could spot what he dropped, but nothing. She walked in further, putting both gun cases on his bed. 

“Our sparring session got cut short.” She turned to him, eyeing up and down his body. “I’m not complaining though.” 

Alex walked closer to her, hands gripping her hips, pulling her up against his body. She looked up at him, her hand resting on his broad chest. His hands moved over the curve of her ass, easily picking her up. Her legs wrapping around his waist automatically. 

He lent down, nipping at her earlobe. “Ya tebya khochu.” He started to kiss down her jaw, stopping at the base of it. 

“This isn’t cleaning our guns.” She pulled away with an arched brow. “And I thought we were cutting back a little? Or did you forget about the talk we had last night?” 

“I did not forget kotyonok.” He kissed her nose, then set her down. “Are you going to tell me why your sparring session with Ash got cut short?” 

She moved her gun cases to the side to sit down on the bed. “Ash and I were just joking around and we realized we wouldn’t get any training in if we kept going like that.” 

Alex walked over to his desk grabbing cleaning equipment and sat down next to her. His RP-46 Degtyaryov machine gun was lying against his night stand, like he was already getting things set up for them. 

“We could train together, if you are willing?” He grabbed his Degtyaryov, setting it in his lap before looking over at her. 

Skylar smiled, grabbing the case that homed her M1911 pistol. “I would like that, but won’t Maxim, Timur and Shuhrat get a little jealous that their lord is spending more time with someone else?” 

She opened the case, relieving the gun from it’s spot in the case. 

“They already know about us, so no, they won’t.” He set the cleaning stuff in the middle of them - Skylar sitting crossed-legged on the bed next to him. 

“Oh so you did tell them! So far I haven’t told anyone else, and do you think some people would consider us unprofessional?” 

He locked eyes with her, seeing the sudden fear and worry in them made him feel a little angry. “That is their problem, not ours. I am not going to stop this relationship because someone thinks it’s unprofessional.” 

“I wish I could be as blunt as you.” She leaned over, giving him a quick peck on the lips. “And thank you, I needed to hear that.” 

“Anything for my kotyonok!” 

Skylar set her gun down, then moved his from his lap so she could straddle him. His eyes filling with excitement. “I think the guns can wait.” 

xXx

Skylar was on her stomach with the sheets wrapped over her body as she looked through the pictures on Alex’s phone. He was showing her his collection of Degtyaryov and Mosin-Nagant guns that he owned. There was quite a lot, and some she would love to get her hands on. 

“How long did it take you to collect these?” 

He stopped polishing his gun to look at her, the toothbrush never leaving his hand. “Years. Most I got from when I was still in the Red Army, others I had to track down.” 

“Wow.” She flipped through some more pictures, loving how they were perfectly set up at his place back in Russia. “I would love to see them in person someday.” 

“Next time we are on leave, I’ll take you back to Russia. You can do more than see them lyubimaya.” He went back to polishing his guns while she keep going back to the pictures of each gun. 

“You would let me fire some of your prized possessions? But after we would have to stop in my hometown or I’ll never hear the end of it from my mother.” She handed him his phone back and sat up, making sure the sheets didn’t fall off her body. 

“Yes I would. I would not mind that, seeing the town you grew up in would be a nice vacation.” He stood up, placing his Degtyaryov on it’s mount. “How will your parents feel about us?” 

He put the toothbrush back in the case with the rest of the cleaning supplies, and sat down. 

Skylar looked at him with both amusement and disbelief. “Is that worry I sense in you Alex? They’ll be fine with us being together. Actually they’ll probably be ecstatic knowing I’m in a relationship.” 

“No, that was not worry. Concern, yes. I haven’t had to meet someone's parents in a very long time.” He looked away and sighed. It was almost uncharacteristic of him to be so….closed off. 

Skylar moved closer to him, resting a hand on his bare shoulder. “You’ve never been afraid of telling people how you really feel. Whatever it is I can deal with it.” 

“Skylar, you have been the first person I’ve like…..romantically in a very long time. I don’t want to lose something I have just been given.” 

His eyes scanned her face - seeing her features soften under his stare. He lost count of how many times he found himself staring at her from a distance. Whether it was in the gym, a briefing or in the cafeteria. He always found himself staring. 

Of course it was her beauty that drawn him in at first, then as he slowly got to know her whether hearing from other operators or talking with her, he knew his feeling for her were more than just sexual. 

“You’re not going too. I think you’ll get along famously with my parents, and you might even be able to help my dad with something.” She chuckled at the confusion etched on to his face. “The business he owns is a local brewery. It started off with wine, then beer and now he wants to add vodka to the list. It hasn’t worked out well.” 

“I like your father already.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder - kissing her temple. “What does your mom do?” 

“Freelance writer. She kinda stopped once I went into the service.” She scratch her nose and sighed. “She didn’t like me joining very much.” 

“Why is that?” He craned his head to see her better. 

“Probably was afraid that I was going to die. Thankfully she’s over that phase and is happy with what I do. Not like she could stop me from doing this anyways.” 

“You save people, I am sure she’s proud of you.” 

She smiled to herself. Joining the marines nearly put a rift between her and her mom and the endless arguments on ‘better’ options to find money for college. There was one feeling her mother will never know. Watching the hostage you just save being reunited with loved ones, how over the moon they look to see each other once again. She could never fully describe how that feels, and you’ll only get to experience it by doing that job. 

“I hope she is.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off I just want to thank you all for the kudos, I wasn't sure how this was going to do, especially considering it's main focus is on an OC (and Tachanka). But it does make me happy that Skylar is getting some love. Anyways this chapter was going to be way longer, but i decided to cut it up into 2 parts cause I didn't think you guys would've like to read like 10k words. Or maybe you did, I don't know. But I hope you enjoy!!

“-I need you to be sniper support with Glaz while Blitz and I secure the hostage.” said Thatcher as they continued walking towards the cafeteria. He handed her one of the two files in his hands. “Read over this and we bug out at 0200.” 

“Yes sir.” She was about to head into the cafeteria until Thatcher told her to wait. Then handed her the other file. 

“Do you mind handing this to Glaz? I need to attend some other matters.” 

She took the other file from his hand. “Yeah, no problem.” 

Thatcher bowed his head, then headed down the hall. 

Skylar looked down at the file and sighed, hoping Glaz was in the cafeteria. She wasn’t in the mood to go looking for him around the base. So she decided to peek her head in and glance around the room. Then she spotted him, sitting at his regular table…..with Alex and Maxim. 

She groaned and scrubbed a hand down her face - knowing she would need to go over there and hand Glaz the file. Except this would be the first time speaking with them since her and Alex became an official couple. Then again, why was she nervous? If they disapproved Alex would have told her. 

She composed herself then glanced around the room again. No Ash yet, which was good, since she was going there to meet her anyways and she didn’t need to get the daggers just yet. Then walked into the room. 

Skylar made her way towards his table, fiddling with the files in hand. Maxim was the first to see her, giving her a nod and a small smile before getting Alex’s attention. He looked over his shoulder - face softening immediately once he saw her. 

“Lyubimaya, I wasn’t expecting to see you yet.” He moved his jacket from the seat next to him so she could sit down. “I thought you were training with Castle?” 

She placed the files on the table, sitting down with a long sigh. “I was, until Thatcher called me over.” 

“Getting on Thatcher’s bad side isn’t such a good idea Phoenix.” said Kapkan, arching his brow. 

Skylar’s attention was shifted over to Maxim. Even though years of stressful situation aged him more, he wasn’t so hard on the eyes. In her eyes his age marks made him look more attractive. 

“Ha, I’m not. It was for an upcoming mission tonight.” She slide a file over to Glaz. “Thatcher wants us at the chopper at 0200.” 

Glaz took the file and opened it. She watched his eyes scan over the first page, before setting on her. “Sniper support? I did not know you were a sniper?” 

“Technically I’m not. Yes I’ve had training with a sniper and was pretty decent at it, it’s just not my preferred weapon.” She tapped her fingers on the table, glancing between Glaz and Kapkan. “I don’t do well staying still for a long period of time, I get too antsy.” 

Alex moved her chair closer to him, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She rolled her eyes - smiling to herself. PDA wasn’t something she was use too, her affection was always behind closed doors. But it made her heart skip a beat by how proud Alex was to ‘show’ her off. 

She shifted in her seat, leaning closer to him as she opened up her file. Scanning over the front page like how Glaz was. It was a typical rescue the hostage mission. Land a few clicks outside the hot zone, track the rest on foot, fight your way through a bunch of tangos and secure the hostage for extraction. Nothing she hasn’t done a few dozen times. 

“Being a sniper is not for everyone, I’m sure you will do fine.” 

“I know, thankfully hostage missions don’t normally take too long.” She turned towards Alex, his eyes already on her. “It looks like you’re going to be sleeping alone tonight.” 

He scratched at the stubble on his cheek, then let out a deep sigh. “I’m not happy about that. Why couldn’t Thatcher pick someone else?” 

“You can ask him that, I was just planning on getting some training in with Castle. I didn’t ask to be put on this mission.” She chuckled. “Besides I think you’ll survive a few days without me.” 

“If he can’t then our lord has lost his ways.” 

Alex shot Maxim a glare making Skylar muffle a laugh. “Ya vyzhivu khorosho.” 

Skylar glanced between Maxim and Alex, then leaned over to Glaz. “What did he just say?” 

Glaz looked up from the file as soon as he heard her voice. “He said ‘I’ll survive fine’.” 

“Oh okay. Thanks.” 

Glaz nodded then went back to the file. She knew she should look it over more, get all the details she could before they left tonight. But she knew Thatcher would call them in for another briefing an hour or so before they left, to go over every objective they had to do. 

“As much as I would like to stay I should check over my sniper before tonight.” She closed the file and stood up, only to be followed suit by Alex. 

“I’ll go with you.” 

“You don’t have to you know?” She picked up her file and turned to him. 

“I know, but I want too!” 

“Yes your highness.” Skylar smirked and started to walk away. From a distance she heard him mumble something in Russian then his booted feet pitter pattering across the tiled floor. 

xXx

Skylar opened the door leading to her room - followed by Alex who was right behind her. He let the door close on it’s own, then sat down on her bed near her night stand while she grabbed her sniper case from underneath the bed. She placed it on top with sigh and opened it. 

It didn’t need much cleaning, she barely used it, but she would need to make sure everything was working accordingly before tonight. 

She looked over at Alex - seeing him look at the few pictures she had out on her night stand. He picked one up, examining it, then look over at her with a smile. 

“Malysh is this your family?” 

He showed her the picture, it was the last family photo they took before she joined Rainbow. It wasn’t anything fancy, just taken on her parents couch. She was sat in the middle, with her sister Chloe, her boyfriend and her mom and dad to the left and her sister Valary with her husband Evan on the right. They all looked so happy. 

She nodded and sat down next to him. “We took that a week before I came here. My mom was always keen on taking pictures of us, whether as a family or separately. It’s funny to think I was the only single one there.” 

“Not anymore.” He set the photo back on her night stand, then picked up another one. Skylar smiled to herself as she watched him carefully look over the picture. 

“That seems like a lifetime ago.” She picked up her MK 14 rifle and started to check it over. “It was taken a few months after I joined…...god I look so young.” 

“You still are.” He set it back down, then turned to her. Her hair was up in a bun, revealing that big scar on her neck that dipped into her collarbone. The same scar he would trace with his fingers when she was asleep beside him. 

“Sometimes I don’t feel like it.” She sighed as she set the rifle aside. “It sucks what being in the military does to you.” 

Alex nodded and grabbed her hand, intertwining it with his. He knows exactly what being in the military does to people. It’s like being swallowed, chewed up and spit back out. Nothing will ever prepare you for the horrors of it, the only thing you can do is hope it doesn’t break you. 

“No one can prepare you for the horrors of it, all you can do is hope it doesn’t kill you.” 

“That’s the worst of it, but I also can’t deny that I love the adrenaline I get during ops. Being in danger, close calls. Always gets my blood pumping.” 

Skylar watched his face falter, making her eyes go wide for a brief second. Even though they’ve gotten a lot closer in the past few days, she still saw him as the extroverted, speak his mind type of guy that she came to love. So seeing him lose his ‘facade’ when they were alone was something entirely new. But none the more attractive. 

“Am I going to need Glaz to look after my kotyonok when I am not there?” 

“No. I’ll be perfectly fine. Though that did ruin my chances of running straight into a bomber.” Skylar laughed, then placed a quick kiss upon his lips. “I find it cute that your worried.” 

Alex let go of her hand, resting it on her thigh. Her cotton sweatpants felt soft and smooth under his palm. He watched her grabbed her rifle, checking it over again - facial features relaxed under his gaze. 

“Would you rather I not be worried?” He arched his brow, taunting her. 

Skylar scoffed and set her rifle back down again, then looked at him. “I like that you’re worried, it shows you care. I guess I’m not really used to seeing you like...this.” 

“Romantic?” 

She placed her hands in her lap, looking down at them and chuckled nervously. “Yeah.”

“There’s a lot we don’t know about each other lyubimaya, we have just started dating.” 

“It’s not that.” She maneuvered herself so her back was against the wall, then plucked at a string on her blanket. “You just have such a strong public persona that it’s kinda hard to see past it.” 

Alex maneuvered himself so he was sitting next to her against the wall. He looked down, meeting her gaze. Her chestnut brown hair was in a messy bun with a few strands dangling down. He took one of the strands of silky smooth hair - placing it behind her ear. 

“No argument there.” 

Skylar rubbed her right eye as she glanced at her rifle that laid beside her. “I actually don’t want to go on this mission. I hate doing sniper support.” 

“Glaz will keep you company.” His hand grasped her thigh again, working it’s way up towards the band of her sweatpants. “I can occupy the kotyonok until then.” 

She placed her hand on top of his, moving it back to his lap. “Not here.” 

Before Alex could say his next word the door opened, making them both turn their attention to the door. Ash and Thermite walked in seconds later, Ash automatically saw her and Alex sitting on her bed and said nothing, Thermite however stopped in his tracks looking confused. 

“I was going to text you and say I was going to be late for lunch but you clearly found a way to occupy yourself.” said Ash as she sat down on the bed, shooting Skylar a smirk as she opened the file in her hand. 

She glanced over at Thermite who too had a file in hand. “Yeah, well training got cut short thanks to Thatcher. I see you guys got a mission as well.” 

“Yeah a high value target one.” Thermite opened his file and sat down next to Ash. “You said you got a mission as well?” 

“Hostage extraction with Glaz, Thatcher and Blitz. Should be fun.” She placed her rifle back in it’s case and closed it. “Who are you going with?” 

“Thermite, IQ, Sledge, and Maverick.” Ash looked up from her file, locking eyes with Skylar. “That’s a pretty small group for a hostage extraction.” 

“I know. Probably because Thatcher wants us to do it as stealthy as possible. I’m doing sniper support with Glaz.” 

“That explains the sniper rifle on your bed.” said Thermite motioning to the case. “So what’s the deal between you two?” 

Skylar brought her knees up to her chest and scoffed. She knew it was only a matter of time before he said something. But she knew it would be better to get it out of the way now then dragged it on. 

From her peripheral she could see Alex cross his arms and sigh in annoyance. “The kotyonok and I are together.” 

“Together, together? Isn’t she a little young for you Tachanka?” 

She looked over at Alex, seeing the rage roll off him like a cloud. But he didn’t budge, just relaxed his body a little bit. “That’s not for you to decide.” 

“Jordan just let it go, it doesn’t concern you anyways.” 

He turned to Ash, disbelief showing on his face. “You can’t be telling me you knew about them?” 

Ash looked up from her file, a little annoyed by the pestering. “Yes, she told me yesterday. I don’t know why you’re getting all worked up about it, it doesn’t concern you.” 

She rolled her eyes and went back to the file in hand. Skylar muffled a laugh again until she locked eyes with Jordan. She could see the betrayal in them which she didn’t understand. Why would he feel betrayed or was it something different all together? 

“You do realize this isn’t going to stop me from doing my job, right? I do know how to prioritize.” 

“Hopefully you can live up to that.” He went back to his file, not paying any mind to her or Alex. 

“I know you think you’re the ‘leader’ of the SWAT team but you’re not. Ash is, so stop trying to act like you have any say in what I do. Or specifically who I date.” She leaned back against the wall and scoffed. 

She looked over at Alex, a small smile gracing her face. She was half surprised and half not that Alex wasn’t making more of an ordeal out of it, then again he knew it wouldn’t do any good to put a rift between the Spetsnaz and SWAT. 

Ash closed the file and set it aside, completely ignoring Jordan on her left. “So when are you leaving?” 

“Have to be at the chopper by 0200. What about you?” 

“About an hour.” She turned to Jordan, grabbing his attention. “That means we should get ready.” 

“Yeah.” He closed the file in his hand, taking a last glanced at Skylar and Alex before standing up. “I’ll meet you in the armory.” 

She watched him leave, waiting for the door to close before looking back over at Ash. “I knew he was going to be the only one who would have a shit fit over this.” 

“I’ll sort his shit out during the mission.” 

“Let him wallow in it for the time being. You know him, he’ll drag this out for some reason.” She scrubbed a hand down her face and sighed, then turned to Alex. “You’re being uncharacteristically non hyperverbal about all this.” 

“I would have made things worse if I did.” 

“And you called him out pretty good as well. Never thought that the quiet Skylar could have such a mean streak.” Ash smirked then got up from her bed. 

“Only when I’m really annoyed….or angry.” She stood up from her bed to stretch - arms raised above her head. “Jordan just gets under my skin so easily. He’s like that annoying big brother that I never wanted.” 

Skylar looked over at Ash who was fumbling through her draw to find her uniform. She pulled out her black pants and a black shirt - throwing them on the bed. 

“I like seeing that part of you kotyonok.” 

She turned her head towards him, a smile gracing her face. “Hopefully you won’t see it as much. I’d rather not spend a lot of my time being annoyed or angry.” 

Alex got off the bed, quickly towering over her. “That is true! You want to take some of that anger out at the shooting range?” 

“That’s sounds like a good idea.” She grabbed her M4 Machine Gun from under her bed, then turned to Ash. “I’ll see you in a few days and smack some sense into Thermite will ya?” 

“I’ll try and see you when you get back.” 

Skylar walked out of her room followed by Alex who was closely behind her. The shooting range sounded like a good idea, blow off some steam before the hostage extraction tonight. She didn’t need to be all worked up with doing sniper support. 

“Are you going to use your degtyaryov or something else?” 

He cocked his head in her direction as they walked down the empty hallway. “I was going to let you use it.” 

She stopped dead in her tracks - mouth agape. “Are you serious?” 

“Dovol’no.” 

“Still have no idea what you just said.” She grabbed his hand and started pulling him down the hall. “But let’s go get that gun.” 

“Da dorogoy.” 

The rounded the corner, heading down yet another empty hall. She started to wonder where everyone was. But that wonder was quickly interrupted when the comms went off. 

“Glaz, Phoenix and Blitz to the briefing room.” Thatcher’s voice rang out. She groaned and let go of his hand. 

“Postpone it?” 

“Of course. I’ll bring your M4 to my room.” 

“Thanks.” She handed him the case and sighed in annoyance. “If I have time I’ll stop by your room before I leave.” 

“If you can’t….just don’t run straight into a bomber while you’re there.” He smirked, making her shake her head. 

“Funny.” She leaned up giving him a quick peck on the lips. “I should get going before Thatcher has a fit.” 

“Mmm. I’ll hopefully see the kotyonok later. If I can’t then...be safe Skylar.” 

Her face soften after hearing him say her name. It rolled off his tongue so nicely, like it belonged there. 

“Always!” 

She began to walk away, only to be stopped by Alex grabbing her hand. She looked back at him with an arched brow, then he pulled her in for a hug. The sudden embrace was nice, and she wanted nothing more than to stay in his arms. 

“Job now, hug later.” 

Skylar tried to muffle her laugh as she heard that familiar German accent, but failed. She let go of Alex and turned to see Blitz walking down the hall towards them. 

“Hi Blitz.” 

“Hi Phoenix, Tachanka.” He stopped next to them, his strikingly blue eyes glanced between them. “Since we are already here, could I accompany you to the briefing room?” 

“Yes you can!” She turned to Alex one last time, giving him another kiss, this time on his cheek. Then headed down the hall with Blitz.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ngl this chapter is really long. And i'm not sure how i did with the actual mission part since i suck at action stuff and i wasn't going to have any explicit sex scenes but that failed as well. But i hope you enjoy!

“-You and Tachanka huh?” Blitz turned his head to look at her as they continued down the hall, his blue eyes sparkled under the fluorescent lights above. “I never thought he would be in a relationship.”

Skylar looked at the tiled floor as they continued on - a small smile creeping up on her face. “Yeah, it’s kind of a long story.”

“I’m sure it’s a good one!”

“Maybe I’ll tell you about it someday.” She winked at him as she walked into the briefing room.

She heard him laughing behind her as she took her seat at the table. Thatcher was standing by the whiteboard with his arms crossed against his chest - patiently waiting for everyone to come in.

Blitz took a seat next to her, giving her a quick smile before turning his attention to the whiteboard with the missions plans drawn on it. And all they had left to do was wait for Glaz.

She looked over at the board, burning each black mark into her head. Thatcher drew two sniper nests on each side of the building with ‘Phoenix’ and ‘Glaz’ written in parenthesis, it looked like Glaz was covering the west while she covered the east. And Thatcher and Blitz would enter from the south.

The plan looked good, the positions her and Glaz would be in would give them enough coverage of the house to cover Thatcher and Blitz while they secured the hostage. Though plans could quickly change from here on out.

A few seconds later Glaz walked into the briefing room, all glade in his face paint and fatigues. He took a seat across from Skylar, giving her a stiff nod as he did.

Thatcher saw that everyone was accounted for and went over to the whiteboard. “Alright laddies and lass listen here. If you’ve read the file than you know we have a hostage situation in the Caucasus Mountains.” He grabbed one of the black markers circling the spots on the board where ‘Glaz’ and ‘Phoenix’ were written. “I want Phoenix and Glaz covering the east and west side of the building while Blitz and I enter the house from the south.”

He turned towards the table where everyone nodded that they understood.

“The chopper will drop us off five clicks from the location. Alright we bug out in an hour.”

Skylar slowly pushed the chair away from the table to stand up to leave after everyone else did. She was happy that they were leaving in an hour, that gave her enough time to change into her fatigues, grab her weapons and spend a little more time with Alex.

She smiled to herself as she left the briefing room only to jump a mile in the air when she saw Glaz leaning against the wall, waiting for her. “Jesus Glaz don’t scare me like that.”

He walked over to her, handing her a piece of paper. “Sorry! Alex wanted me to give this too you.”

“Thanks.” She grabbed the piece of paper from his hand and opened it. The note read, ‘if you can, meet me in my room before you leave, I have something for you.’ “Can I ask you something? It’s been kinda bothering me and I’m kind of embarrassed to ask Alex.”

“Anything! What is it?”

“What does ‘kotyonok’ mean? That’s what he calls me the most and I’m curious.” She chuckled and shoved the note in her pants pocket.

“It means kitten.”

Skylar looked down at the floor, shaking her head. Then she looked back up at Glaz with a smile gracing her face. “Kitten! Wow, that’s actually kinda cute.”

“It is! You should get ready, knowing Alex he’ll hold you up and we don’t need Thatcher on your ass.”

“No we don’t. I’ll see you at the chopper.” She gave him one of those half-ass salutes and headed to her room.

The first thing she did was pull out her black fatigues from her dresser and toss them on the bed. Then went for her thigh holster. As quickly as she could she got dressed, more intrigued on the little present Alex had for her than the mission.

She clipped on her thigh holster than pulled on her purple boots and tied them up. Then grabbed her rifle and pistol and headed out the door.

xXx

She knocked on his door as she placed her pistol in its holster. It only took a matter of seconds until the door opened, she smiled up at him and showed him the small post-it-note between her fingers. “Glaz said you have something for me?”

Alex moved to the side to let her in. “Yes I do.”

Skylar placed her rifle against his desk and turned to him. That’s when she noticed his phone in his hands, no doubt looking for another LMG. “Are you ever going to buy a new gun or do you just like browsing the website?”

“When I find one I like.” He placed his phone in his pocket and walked over to his night stand.

Skylar sat on his bed, fiddling with her hands as she waited to see what her present was. She heard one of the drawers open and the sound of paper being moved around as he looked for it. Once she heard the drawer closed she looked over at him.

“Give me your hand lyubimaya.” He sat down on the bed next to her with her present hidden away in his hand.

She gave him her hand, watching him tie a paracord bracelet around her wrist. She wouldn’t have thought much about it except it was purple, her favorite color. “You didn’t have too Alex. But I love it, so thank you!”

“You’re welcome kotyonok.” He moved closer to her - kissing her temple. “You never know when you are going to need one.”

She stopped fiddling with her new bracelet, looking up at him. To any normal person getting a paracord bracelet from someone wouldn’t be a big deal, but to Skylar it was. It wasn’t just a bracelet, it could potentially save her life one day. And knowing that Alex knew that made her heart fill with love.

“You’re always going to be protecting me, even when you aren’t there.”

“Always!”

Skylar placed a hand on his chest, then tugged at his shirt until he was mere inches from her face and placed a firm kiss upon his lips. “I’ll give you a proper thank you when I get back. Also it’s really cute that you call me kitten, but why?”

“Ah so the kotyonok figured it out finally, huh?” He let out a throaty laugh that made Skylar shake her head, and laugh nonetheless. “And why? Because you’re small and cute like one.”

She averted her eyes to the floor briefly, not wanting Alex to see the embarrassment on her face. “I uh asked Glaz what it meant and he told me.”

She turned her attention back to him, seeing the sparkle in his eyes made her feel a little more at ease….and less embarrassed. “Why didn’t you ask me? You know I would told you malysh.”

“I don’t know, I guess I was a little bit embarrassed.” She laughed and rubbed the back of her neck. “You’re the first person I know that uses kitten for a pet name, but I like it, I think it’s cute.”

“Good because I wasn’t going to stop calling you that.”

Skylar laughed and her eyes averted to the clock on the nightstand. “I should get going or Thatcher will have a fit.”

She got up to grab her rifle that was still lying against his desk, as soon as her fingertips touched it she felt a hand grabbed her wrist and spun her around. They locked eyes and then she found herself in a passionate kiss. Alex pulled away after a moment, resting their foreheads together.

“Pozhaluysta, bud’ ostorozhen.”

She didn’t know exactly what he said but judging by his voice, deep down she knew. She pulled back, forcing him to look down at her. “I promise.”

xXx

Skylar was posted on top of a hill, just beyond the treeline where she remained in a prone position. The wind was minimal, giving her a better chance on hitting her target and where she laid made her unseeable to the enemy.

She scanned the area for any enemies, spotting a handful of them patrolling the eastern part of the house. She scanned towards the front of the building, seeing an additional 5 or more people patrolling the front.

Skylar went for her comms, turning them on. “Glaz I have at least 10 terrorist on my side from what I can see, what about you?”

“I have the same, we should be able to take them out with ease.”

“Did you get that Thatcher? Just tell us when to engage.” She looked through the scope again, scanning between all the enemies trying to figure out their routes. Most of them were spread out which gave her a better chance at killing them all.

“Roger Phoenix and not yet, survey the house before lighting the bastards outside up.”

She heard his radio go off then began surveying the house. It was well lit inside and the top floor had a few floor to ceiling windows, giving her the perfect advantage of seeing inside.

From her side of the building she spotted 6 men downstairs and another 7 from the second floor. Who knows what Glaz was seeing and no one knows how many were in the room with the hostage.

She looked through her scope once again, this time looking for any C4 that might be laying around somewhere in the house. But with how the men were walking around it proved there wasn’t any. Inside the building at least, and she already knew there wasn’t any on the outside either. All doors and windows were clear.

Skylar went for her radio again, turning it on she immediately heard static before it went to the clear channel. “Thatcher I have 6 tangos downstairs and another 7 up, no C4 in or outside the house.”

“Good work Phoenix. Glaz what about you?”

“I have 8 upstairs and about 4 down.” Glaz said after a moment.

“Alright, light em up and rendezvous in front. We’ll surprise the ones inside.”

Skylar smirked as she aims her gun at the guy farthest away from her. Then all she heard was a crack and the enemy falling to the ground. The first 5 were an easy kill, all were spread out enough to not cause any disruptions.

She turned her rifle towards the front, taking out the two that were farthest apart and easy. The other three were a tad bit difficult, they were all huddled together and she had no vantage point.

She groaned and slowly moved to a crouching position, staying behind the treeline and in the dark to not be noticed. She began to walk quietly and carefully, not wanting to step on a twig and have it snap. When she got a good vantage point to hit two of them simultaneously she went back into a prone position. That left one person and she wasn’t that quick of a shot on the rifle.

Just when she thought her luck ran out, the men started to disperse. She waited until they were a ways away from each other before firing her gun.

CRACK…...first target down.

CRACK…….second target down.

CRACK…….third target down.

“Done, moving to the front.” Skylar said as she watched the last body fall to the ground.

She began to make her way down the hill leading to the building, from a distance she could see Blitz and Thatcher coming out of the darkness. It wasn’t hard to spot Blitz’s big shield that reflected the lights of the building.

They stacked up on the right side of the door, Skylar could feel Glaz’s presence behind her as Thatcher set a breech charge on the door. She shoulder’d her rifle, grabbing her pistol from it’s holster.

“Breaching.” They all turned their heads while the breach charge went off with a loud bang, sending wood and metal flying.

Thatcher and Blitz were the first to enter the house, the enemy too confused and blinded to see what was going on. When they finally came two all they saw was a barrel of a gun.

With the first wave taken care of, they made their way upstairs to secure the hostage. They knew the men were barricading themselves in with the hostage, making it more difficult to get to him without injuring him in a crossfire.

At the top of the stairs Blitz broke out a drone, setting it on the wooden floor. “Drone out.”

Skylar fiddled with her pistol while waiting for Blitz to finish his reckon. The mission was going well and to her liking, for the most part but she couldn’t deny that she wanted it to end a little bit faster.

Glaz looked down at her left wrist seeing the purple paracord bracelet tied around it. He shouldered his weapon and gently grabbed her wrist to get a better look at it. “He did better than I thought. Alex is not the most creative man.”

Skylar turned her head to look at him, eyebrow raised. “You knew he was making it?”

Glaz let go of her wrist - she let it fall to her side with a thunk. “Yes, he’s been working on it for weeks. At first I thought he wanted to pick up a different hobby than looking for a new LMG. When I saw he was using purple, I knew it was for you.”

“Wow, I never knew that, then again it’s not like we had a luxury of time to talk before we left. That’s sweet that he’s been thinking about me for that long!” Her other hand grazed over the rope again, a small smile inching across her face.

Glaz nodded - grabbing his pistol from it’s holster. “I can tell he really likes you! Whatever you did, made him fall, fast and hard. It’s nice to see!”

“The one hook up I don’t regret.” She chuckled, then looked down at the stairs they were standing on. “I’m just not sure how I’m gonna feel when all of Rainbow finds out about us.”

“Don’t worry about that Skylar, if anyone has a problem with you and Alex, he’ll be the first to let them know it’s none of their business.”

“That’s true. That’s also one of the things I like about him, is how blunt he is. I’ll never have to question if anything is wrong in our relationship.”

“What’d you have Blitz, we ain’t got all day.” Thatcher said seconds later, making Glaz and Skylar look over at him.

“Sorry Sir. I count eight hostiles in the room, all manning each of the entrances into it. The hostage is in the middle of it.” Blitz but his phone away and the drone before grabbing his gun.

“Okay. Glaz, Phoenix I want you guys to traverse the building and surprise the bastards from the windows. Blitz and I will breach each of the doors here. And try not to hit the hostage.”

“Yes sir.”

Glaz and Skylar made their way down the stairs and out the front door. They circled around the back towards the windows leading into the room where the hostage was. The back of the house was pitch black, giving them a good chance of surprising them.

Skylar was about send up her grappling hook but Glaz stopped her. She looked over at him confused, and it didn’t help she couldn’t read his face, but his eyes were conveying all she needed to know.

He didn’t say anything, just pointed up. She looked to where he was pointing and sighed. Each window had two bricks of C4 in them, making it impossible to breach from the windows without blowing themselves up.

“Thatcher, we have a problem.” Glaz said over the radio after a moment.

“What is it?”

“There’s C4 on the windows, we can’t breach from this end.”

“Bollocks. Alright come back inside. Glaz you’ll cover me, Phoenix, you’ll cover Blitz.”

They made their way back inside, stepping over the dead bodies as they went back up the stairs.

Glaz got behind thatcher, while Skylar got behind Blitz. She trusted each man there with her life, but Blitz’s shield made her feel a tad bit more safe. At that moment she was quite happy Six tasked her German friend with this mission.

“Breaching in...3….2…...1.”

She followed behind Blitz, gun raised as they entered the room. Blitz grabbed Skylar’s shirt, pulling her down as he covered them with his shield. That’s when she heard the ting, ting, ting of the bullets hitting it.

She aims her gun to the left, getting one of the men in her sight before pulling the trigger a few times. Watching his body fall to the ground made her quite satisfied while Blitz took out the other guy.

Thatcher and Glaz took out the men by the windows, and with luck on their side, the breach charge on their side of the room killed the two men manning that way in.

Once the shooting stopped, Skylar stood up and holstered her weapon. She looked around, seeing all the work they just did - then watched Thatcher go for the hostage. She heard him talking to the guy they came here to save, but didn’t pay that much mind to it. Instead she went back out into the hall and leaned against the railing overlooking the downstairs foyer.

It wasn’t long until she felt a presence next to her, thinking it was Glaz but it wasn’t, it was Blitz. He set his shield down against the railing and turned to her. “It’ll be an hour before our extraction gets here. That gives us enough time for you to tell me how you and Tachanka came to be. If you want to, that is.”

Skylar laughed, and faced him. “Okay, okay. It happened at the holiday party about a week ago. All I remember is talking to Meghan, then Alex came over and asked if I wanted to do shots with them. I agreed and next thing I know I’m waking up in his bed.”

“There has to be more than that.” His blue eyes lit up and he motioned for her to continue. He looked like a little kid listening to a really interesting story. It made her laugh.

“A few days later, after I kinda avoided him we confessed that we both wanted to be more than just friends with benefits. And viola, we’re together.” Her hand went back to the paracord bracelet on her wrist, and she smiled to herself.

“Well I’m happy for you. It’s always nice to see friends find somebody!.”

“Thanks Elias!”

xXx

About 5 hours later they were finally back at base and exhausted beyond words. Thatcher was reporting to Six, Blitz and Glaz were off to the showers and most likely bed afterwards. And all Skylar wanted to do was take a shower and pass out as well. Before she could do that, she wanted to tell Alex they were back. So that’s where she headed.

She glanced into the cafeteria first, checking to see if he was in there with Maxim and Shuhrat. When he wasn’t there she went directly to his room. She knocked on his door, hoping he was in there and not outside or in the gym. When she saw the doorknob move, she knew she was right.

“Kotyonok, you’re back!” He grabbed her hand, pulling her into his room. “How was the mission?”

Skylar set her rifle and pistol down on his desk and turned to him. “It went well, hostage is safe and sound. And Blitz knows about us now.”

Alex sat down on the bed, then grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. She stood in between his legs while his arms wrapped around her waist - head resting on her chest. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him and began playing with his blonde hair.

“That’s good! You don’t have plans for this Friday do you?” He looked up at her, his grayish-blue eyes scanning her face.

“No, why?”

“I’ve been wanting to take you out on a proper date for a while now and since we’re already together I figured it was time.”

She stopped playing with his hair and sat down on his lap, her arm wrapping around his shoulder. “Where are we going and do I need to wear anything formal?”

“Dinner and a movie. The restaurant is a surprise, and semi-formal.” He tilted his head, giving Skylar a few tame kisses on her neck.

“Dinner and a movie? Old fashion, I like it. What are we seeing?”

“I thought it’d be best to choose together.”

“Okay, but a little later. I’m spent and in a desperate need of a shower, though a bath sounds way better. I wish we had a bath on base.” Skylar groaned and rubbed her tired eyes.

“Since you’re already here, I’ll get the shower ready for you.” He picked her up, setting her on the bed.

She watched him get up and head for his bathroom. “No, Alex you don’t need to. I don’t even have any of my stuff here. Or a change of clothes.”

He stopped at the doorway leading to his bathroom, then turned to her. He pointed to the bottom drawer of his nightstand and crossed his arms. Skylar arched a brow and opened it, spotting a change of clothes and her shower essentials. She shook her head, taking out her shampoo and conditioner, along with her change of clothes.

“Were you planning this?”

“No, Ash did. She knew you wouldn’t go directly to your room after the mission, said it was fine to grab some of your stuff from your room. So I did.”

Skylar chuckled and scrubbed a hand down her face again. “So that’s how she’s gonna play it.”

“Play what?” Alex let his arms fall to his side as he walked over to her. He sat down next to her, his eyes gazing into hers.

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Because she’s not here, she’s gonna be fine with me spending almost all of my time with you. When she’s here I won’t hear the end of it. Now I can say it’s her fault, since my shower stuff is in here.”

His hands cupped her cheeks, gently pulling her closer to him so he could kiss her forehead. His lips lingered there for a moment before he pulled away, looking down at her. “She cares about you kotyonok. Now shall I get the shower ready for you?”

“I know she does, and yes please!”

Alex got up and headed for his bathroom while Skylar started to untie her boots and set them aside. Followed by her pants and socks. She heard the water running as she worked on the buttons of her shirt, pulling the sleeves down her arms and tossing it with the rest of her stuff that laid on his chair.

She stood up and stretched, reaching her arms above her head. Alex came out a few seconds later while she took off her bra, leaving her in her underwear and black tank top.

He walked over to the bed, grabbing her shampoo and conditioner.

“Will you be joining me?” Skylar asked as she tossed her bra in the chair.

“Does the kotyonok want me too?”

“Yes!” She walked into the bathroom, checking to see if the water was at the right temperature for her. She turned the knob slightly to the right, making the water cool down just a bit.

She watched him put her stuff next to his before leaving the bathroom, then she checked the water again. Since it was now to her liking she took off her tank top and underwear, leaving them on the floor. She was about to get into the shower until she realized her hair was still up in a pony. She took out the hair tie, setting it on the sink, and got in.

Skylar closed her eyes as she let the hot water beat down on her. It felt nice and relaxing after a long mission - only to be snapped back to reality when Alex wrapped his arms around her waist, swaying them back and forth.

“I see you kept your present on.”

She turned her head to get a better look at him - the water trickling down his neck. “I’m never taking it off.”

Alex let go of her waist, turning her around to face him. She looked up and down from his broad chest to his face. Seeing a scar here an age mark there, she wondered if any of the scars he got from when he was back in the Red Army.

His hand came up and cupped her cheeks once again, his thumb caressing her smooth skin. “Ty sdelal menya ochen’ schastlivym, kotenok!”

“I understood ‘kitten’ and that was it.” She chuckled and smiled up at him. “What did you say?”

“I said you have made me very happy.” He leaned down and crushed their lips together. His hands ravishing her body as hers wrapped around his neck. He hoisted her up, leaning her back against the cool shower wall.

Her legs wrapped around his waist, feeling his growing arousal on her thigh. She pushed him away, trying to catch her breath. “I’ve made you happy?”

Alex stopped his attack on her neck and locked eyes with her. He didn’t like the uncertainty in her voice or that she didn’t think she made him happy. “Very! Out of everyone on this base, I’ve wanted you the most. You are not the unlikable women you think you are Sky.”

“I’m just use to being nobodies first choice, or they find someone better in the long run. I guess I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that anyone would actually want me.”

She looked down at his torso and sighed - closing her eyes to let the few tears fall down her cheeks. Alex placed his thumb in the dip of her chin, gently raising her head. “You’re my first choice, kotyonok. Eto nikogda ne izmenitsya.”

“What was that last part?” She chuckled, trying to grab onto his wall for extra support.

He saw that she was slipping, grabbing her hips in a tight yet firm hold and kept her in place. “I said ‘that’s never going to change’.”

Skylar leaned back against the wall - sighing. “Don’t make promises you’re never going to keep Alex.”

Alex wasn’t someone to be taken aback by someone's words, he would just let it roll off his shoulders for the most part. This time was different, hell he even felt slightly hurt by her words. “And how do you know I won’t keep that promise Skylar?”

“I don’t.” She looked away from him, and to the water beating down at their sides. As much as she hated being exposed emotionally, it was even worse when she was exposed both physically and emotionally.

“I’ve wanted you for months Skylar, trying to get closer to you as much as I could without being a bother.”

Skylar turned and looked at him, her hand came up and grazed over that purple paracord bracelet once again. “You were never a bother Alex, I always enjoyed our conversations together and every time one would end I couldn’t wait for the next one to begin. It was your bluntness that made me fall for you. Not having to question what someone really thinks was a plus, yet here I am, questioning everything.”

“What happened between you and the other guy, kotyonok?” He moved her damp chestnut hair behind her ear, looking down at her - conveying concern in his eyes.

“All he cared about was getting laid, so he lied about everything. When we finally had that big blow out, that’s when he confessed.” She wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand - letting out a shaky breath. “He said he didn’t want to be with me because he didn’t like how smart I was and he didn’t want to be the ‘dumb’ one in the relationship. It also puts a damper on ones self-esteem when you’re told you’re only good for one thing.”

She watched his jaw clench and brows narrow into a line. This was the first time seeing him get visibly upset over something, and it was a sight to behold. Skylar was so use to him being laid back, not having much of anything get to him, so seeing him like this was new and to put simple nice to see. It made her feel more hopeful that he seemed to care so much.

“Chert s nim, ty zasluzhivayesh’ luchshego.” He leaned down placing a few kisses on her lips before locking eyes. “Kotyonok, you didn’t deserve that! I’m not that mudak, I will never treat you like some worthless piece of ass. You are much more than that to me.”

If it wasn’t for the sincerity in his voice, she might not have truly believed him. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck - resting her head on his shoulders. “I’m sorry for doubting us…….for doubting you.”

“No need. Heartbreak is….heartbreak, we all deal with it differently.” He held onto her tightly, rubbing up and down her bare back.

Alex couldn’t help the smile that graced his face. It’s been decades since anyone had caught his eye romantically and deep down he knew she was too pure for him, to good. And maybe she would be better off with someone who had a heart of gold like Blitz. But there was a snowball's chance in hell that he would ever let her go.

After a moment Skylar lifted her head off his shoulders and smiled up at him. “Well this heart-to-heart dampened the mood.”

He set her down, letting her stretch her legs. “That was weighing you down. It’s best to get that off your chest instead of having sex in the shower.”

“I do feel better now and at peace with everything.” She put her head under the water, getting her hair nice and wet.

“I’m glad!” He watched her for a moment, burning every detail he could into his brain. How the scar on the back of her right shoulder would move every time she moved that arm or how she would put more weight on her right hip when just standing still. They were simple things, but they made her. Her.

Skylar turned around to grab her shampoo bottle, except Alex stopped her. “Let me.”

She nodded and turned back around. He grabbed the bottle and opened it, squirting a decent amount into his hand. He started massaging her scalp as he lathered her hair in the fruity concoction that was her shampoo.

“Back at the holiday party, I remember you coming over asking if I wanted to do shots with you, Timur and Maxim. I also remember us having really good sex and waking up next to you. But I don’t remember what happened between the shots and going to your room.”

He continued massaging her scalp, getting the shampoo on every inch of hair. “We snuck out while Timur and Maxim were arguing over something, I don’t remember what. We went outside, sat down on one of the benches watching the snowfall.”

Skylar’s eyes widened as that night came back into her mind. “Wait didn’t I go out in the snow?”

“Yes. You threw a snowball at me and laughed.”

“I remember now. We ended up in a snowball fight, and somehow ended up on the ground with you on top of me. We kissed.”

“You can wash the shampoo out now.” She turned around to look at him while washing the shampoo out of her hair. “Yes we did.”

“That was a good night! For someone who isn’t afraid of saying what’s on his mind, why were you waiting so long to ask me out?” She got the last bit of shampoo out of her hair - setting all her attention on him.

“I didn’t know how you would feel with someone significantly older than you asking you out on a date.” He washed the remaining shampoo off his hands and went for the conditioner. “I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

Skylar turned back around so he could put the conditioner in her hair. The massaging of her scalp was starting to lull her to sleep, it felt good and calming. “You also didn’t know if the feelings were mutual. That was really sweet though, and on the contrary you were the first person I had a crush on.”

Alex stopped rubbing the conditioner in her hair and washed the remainder of it off his hands. “Then the feelings were mutual, kotyonok.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She swatted her hand in the air and laughed. “Are you by any chance going back to Russia for the holidays? I know a lot of the other operators are going home for the holidays this weekend.”

She crossed her arms and leaned against the shower wall while the conditioner set in her hair.

“No I’m not, I’m staying here. Are you going back home?”

“I’m staying too. I didn’t want to make that eight hour flight - mom was kinda upset but understood.”

He nodded and crossed his arms as well. “Does the kotyonok know when she’s gonna tell her parents about her blossoming relationship?”

Skylar rolled her eyes and scoffed at the merry tone in Alex’s voice. “Christmas! I can finally call them up and say ‘Merry Christmas mom and dad, I have a boyfriend’.And then to get bombarded by a thousand questions.”

Alex let out a booming laugh, uncrossing his arms to hoist her up once again. “I see we have a sassy kotyonok here. I might have to do something about that!”

“And what would the Lord Tachanka do to his precious little kitten?” Her hand found his semi-erect cock, stroking his length from base to tip.

The low grunt she heard from the back of his throat sent a surge of confidence through her. She grabbed his thick cock in a firm hold and begins to stroke it until the older man became rock hard from her touch.

Skylar looked up at him, seeing his eyes closed and lips slightly parted. The soft moans he was letting out were the icing on the cake. She leaned forward leaving light kisses on the small scars on his chest.

“Yebat’ , chto chuvstvuyet sebya khorosho.” He opened his eyes, and met hers.

His grip on her hips tighten as he sunk to his knees, moving her legs over his shoulders so her crotch was right in front of his face. She felt his hot breath on her clit, then his mouth pressed into her wetness.

She leaned her head back, moaning. His grip tightened even more, no doubt leaving little bruises on her hips as his face pressed further into her. Feeding off her like he’s been starved.

Her fingers threaded his hair, making it more disheveled than it was.

“-Fuck me, this feels amazing.” Skylar moaned out as she let her arms fall to her side.

“In a moment, kotyonok. I’m not finished eating you.” He dove right back in, leaving no room for her to catch her breath.

Her chest began to heave, legs trembling. Alex pulled away, bringing her legs down and standing back up. Skylar looked at him, mouth agape. She saw his chin glistening with her juices and the satisfied look on his face, that irritated her in that moment.

“Alexsandr Senaviev what that hell was that?” She looked at him flustered, annoyed, the whole nine yards.

He laughed, leaning down to crush their lips together. She tasted herself as his tongue slipped into her mouth, moaning into it. He broke the kiss to whisper in her ear. “The only way my kotyonok is getting off is around my cock.”

His arm reached for the condom he had lying next to where the shampoo bottles were. Tearing the wrapper with his teeth, he spit out the packaging onto the shower floor and rolled it on his length while still keeping a good grip on Skylar.

With a slow snap of his hips, he sunk into her. Both softly moaning as he bottomed out. He stilled himself, making sure she was used to the stretch.

Alex kissed along the large scar on her neck that dipped into her collarbone. Skylar rolled her hips, silently telling him she was ready. He felt the bridge of her nose in the crook of his neck as he thrusted up into her.

A whimper escaped her lips as her arms wrapped around his neck, holding onto him for dear life. She kissed along his jawline and down into the crook of his neck, feeling his chest reverberate every time he moaned either her name or kotyonok.

“Oh...Alex!” Her legs trembled around his waist as she came.

He was pummeling into her now, harder and sloppier than before. She could tell he was close to his own orgasm. Then he stilled, his fingers digging into her hips as he came with a moan of her name.

Both now panting and gazing into each others eyes. His grip loosened as he pulled her off of his cock and set her down. Her legs now weak and felt like they were going to give out. She leaned against the shower wall, trying to keep herself sturdy.

Alex tossed the condom in the trash and turned to her. He leaned down, placing a few light kisses on her lips. “How about we get out of this shower kotyonok and curl up in bed?”

“Yeah, that sounds better. Except, I can't walk and I need to wash the conditioner out of my hair.” She chuckled and tried to stand up straight, only to lean back against the shower wall. “Let’s forego having sex in the shower for a bit, eh?”

He walked over a few steps, helping her up. “Take your time. I wasn’t too rough was I?”

“No, it was just how we always are. I’m just use to being on a bed, that’s all.” She moved her hand under the water, that was now cold. A sigh left her lips and she stood up. Her legs still wobbly, but the want of getting out of the shower was outweighing her wants of sitting down.

She quickly washed the conditioner out of her hair, then turned off the shower. Alex was already in his boxers and had a towel ready for her. She got out, wrapping herself in the big blue towel and grabbed another one for her hair.

Skylar grabbed her hair tie from the sink, sliding it onto her wrist and went to leave. But Alex stopped her - picking her up bridal style and headed back into his room. She chuckled as he set her down on the bed and sat down next to her.

“I’m really looking forward to that date! And having the base nearly empty.” She got up to get dressed. Letting the towel fall to the floor as she pulled on a clean pair of underwear and the sweats Alex got from her room. Then pulled on the navy New England Patriots shirt and sat back down.

She grabbed the pillow that was on her side, and laid down. The bed felt like the most amazing thing in the world to her at the moment. Missions always tired her out, and sleep was the first thing on her mind when getting back to base. Now sleep was the farthest thing from her mind, all she wanted to do was lie in bed with Alex and let the day slowly pass bye.

After pulling on a pair of sweats, Alex joined her in bed. “I am too! It will be nice getting off the base for a few hours, just the two of us.”

“It will! So can you please tell me where we’re going?” She pouted her bottom lip at him. “Pretty please?”

He wrapped his arm around her waist - pulling her against his chest. She took a deep breath, taking in his scent. He always smelled like citrus with a lovely balance of warm, woody-musky sounds with a hint of amber gray…….and a faint stench of sex from their coupling a few minutes ago. It was warm and inviting.

“Sorry baby, it won’t be a surprise if I tell you.” He nuzzled his face into her drying hair, taking in the fruity smell of her shampoo.

“Fine.” She huffed. “I am looking forward to seeing you in semi-formal clothing instead of our normal work clothes though.”

“It’s nothing special, kotyonok.” He kissed the top of her head and hummed. “I know you’ll look beautiful.”

“Mmm, thanks!” Skylar cursed herself under her breath at the embarrassing reply she just gave. She was never good at handling compliments all that well. “I meant that’s sweet and I just don’t know how to take compliments.”

Alex let out another booming laugh - pulling her even closer to him. “You’re cute, kotyonok.”

Skylar nuzzled into his chest, trying to get closer to him. “You’re cuter.”

“Yerunda.” He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “Didn’t you say you were tired? Why don’t you take a nap and I’ll wake you up for dinner?”

“That sounds good.”

xXx

Skylar was taking her guns back to her room before she met Alex in the cafeteria. The little three hour nap she had did more harm than good. Now she was more tired than she was before.

She rounded the corner leading to her room where she spotted Jordan leaning against the wall. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “If you’re here to argue I’m not in the mood.”

Jordan looked at her once he heard her voice, pushing himself off the wall. He saw that she was carrying her weapons and arched a brow, only to have it fall seconds later after he realized.

“I’m not, I came to apologize.”

She stopped in her tracks, mouth slightly agape. “Okay, come on in.”

She opened the door and sat her guns on her bed as she retrieved the cases that were still in the spot she left them. The door closed seconds later and Jordan sat down on the edge of her bed.

“I know I have no say in who you date or what you do. And I’m happy that you found someone, even if he’s a good few decades older than you. But I look at you and see this….innocence, and I don’t want to see it get taken away.”

He watched her close her rifle case, pushing to the side and sitting down next to him. “You can’t be that naive Jordan? That innocence was taken away years ago, I just put on a facade so I don’t need to feel that guilt.”

“What guilt?” He say her face falter and eyes close tight.

“Back when I was a marine my platoon and I were escorting civilians to our base after their village was attacked. They convoy was hit, I was the only one who survived.” She opened her eyes, glancing over at him. “When the first Humvee was hit with an RPG, we stopped, got out to see where the hostiles were. It was dark and couldn’t see shit in front of us. The second RPG hit the Humvee closest to me, sending me flying through the air and down the dirt hill. I woke up a day later in the infirmary with my neck and collarbone stitched up.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah. There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think I should’ve died along with them.” She wiped the tears from her eyes - letting out a shaky breath.

“Maybe you were meant to survive to be here. Saving people from terrorists with Ash, Pulse, Castle and I.”

Jordan nudged at her arm with his elbow, making her laugh.

“When you’re not a cocky son-of-a-bitch you can be quite compassionate.”

“Eh, when it calls for it.” He scratched at the stubble on his chin and chuckled. “You definitely shocked me a few days ago. I never pictured you having such a mean steak. At least you didn’t punch me.”

“You may get annoying Jordan, but it’ll take a lot more than you disapproving of my relationship with Alex.”

He held his arms up in a defensive manner, eyes slightly widening. “I don’t disapprove of your relation with him….anymore. Just something I’ll have to get use to, that’s all. And don’t forget about your friends, lunch won’t be the same without you.”

Skylar stood up, grabbing her rifle case and putting it under her bed. “You guys act like I’m gonna abandon you. That’s not gonna happen.”

“Good.” He laughed and stood up. “We good now?”

“We good!” She placed her pistol in its case and set it under her bed, then stood up. “Alex is waiting for me in the cafeteria, I should probably get down there.”

“Awe a dinner date? How cute.” He opened the door, letting her go out first.

“Ha ha, funny. Our first official date isn’t until Friday.”

“I’m sure you two will have fun. That’s if you even make it to your destination.”

Skylar stopped in her tracks and turned to him, a smile gracing her face. “Is that jealousy I hear in your voice Jordan? Don’t worry, maybe someday you can join us.”

Jordan watched as she turn around to leave down the hall. Leaving him in the middle of the hallway...stunned.


	6. Chapter 6

The cafeteria wasn’t as filled as she thought it would be, only about ten people were in the room and that was including her. She could see Jackal passed out in the corner, arms crossed, mouth slightly agape. Lion and Finka were seated in the far left of the cafeteria chatting away. 

She was surprised she didn’t see Glaz, Kapkan and Fuze sitting at the table with Alex, they’re usually there at this time. She shrugged it off and sat down next to him. 

“Where’s the boys?” Skylar pulled her tray closer to her, grabbing the water bottle to open it. “They’re normally here. Wait, did you tell them not to come?” 

She narrowed her eyes at him, taking a sip of her water. He put his hands up in a defensive manner - laughing. “No, Glaz and Kapkan are getting some late night training and Fuze is in the workshop. Would the kotyonok be mad if I did?” 

“Mad, no. Upset, maybe.” She opened her salad container, setting the lid to the side. “I understand why you would since we don’t get a lot of privacy, but it’s still not nice. And we’re in the cafeteria, filled with other operators so it wouldn’t make sense anyways.” 

“Well I don’t want to upset the little kotyonok. You have my word, I won’t do that.” He smirked, holding his hand out for her to shake. 

Skylar laughed, shaking her head, but shook his hand nonetheless. “Good. It’d be ashamed to end our relationship so soon after we just started dating.” 

Alex’s face went white, mouth slightly agape. He dropped his fork on the tray, moving his legs from underneath the table, so he was looking directly at her. She finished mixing in her dressing and turned to him, quirking a confused brow. 

“Would you end our relationship if I did that?” 

She put the lid back on the empty dressing container, setting it back down on her tray, then turned to him. “Do you really think I would break up with you for something as little as that? No way, my deal breakers are cheating and if you ended up being a complete douchebag. Not because you told your friends not to come to dinner because you wanted to spend some alone time with your girlfriend.” 

She watched him visibly relax in front of her, swing his legs back under the table. “You had me worried, kotyonok.” 

“I know.” She giggled. “It was all over your face.” She took a bite of her salad, trying not to make herself choke by laughing again. More and more people started to flood into the cafeteria. Some glanced over to them, raising a brow at how overly close Tachanka was to her. Other’s ignored them or didn’t seem to care and for once Skylar wasn’t nervous about them finding out. “I think people are figuring us out.” 

He looked over his shoulder, glancing around the room, shrugging his shoulders. “Good.” 

“I wonder who’s going to be brave enough to ask us about it.” She chuckled, glancing around the room once more. 

“Ask you, they know better than to ask me about my personal life.” He turned, grabbing her chair and pulling her closer to him. He leaned back against his own, resting his arm around her shoulder. 

“I don’t think they’ll ask me either, Blitz only asked because he saw us hugging in the middle of the hallway.” She grabbed her water again, slowly taking off the cap. “I’m not nervous about people finding out about us, most of the aren’t going to care anyways. The few who will, will probably bring up the age difference like Jordan did and blah, blah, blah.” 

Alex turned his head, eyes scanning her face. “That sounds like a personal problem, something they’ll have to learn how to deal with.” 

“Yeah I know.” Her eyes widened when she remembered about the conversation she had with Jordan before she arrived. “Oh, Jordan apologized.” 

“Did he? I’m surprised he did.” 

“Yup, he said it’s not his place on who I date and it’s something he just has to get use too. He also said he didn’t want to see me lose my innocence, but unfortunately that happened years ago.” 

She sighed, tapping her fingers methodically on the table. Alex looked at her, worry etching onto his face. “What do you mean?” 

“I’ll tell you later.” 

xXx

Later that night they were both sitting on Alex’s bed going through the movies that were showing at the local theater. Neither of them were eager to see any of the movies that were showing, so instead of going to the movies before dinner, they opted to just walk around town before then. 

Alex closed his laptop, setting it back on his desk. When he turned around he noticed Skylar staring off into space, her eyes looked distant like she was off in a land of her own. He walked back over to the bed, sitting down next to her. He took his hand, placing it on top of hers. That seemed to snap her back to reality ‘cause she flinched and turned to him with an apologetic smile on her face. 

“Sorry.” 

“You don’t need to apologize. What’s wrong kotyonok?” 

Skylar let out a shaky breath, looking him in the eyes to see the concern written in them. She moved back further onto the bed, Alex following suit. “Something happened to me when I was a marine, it’s actually the story about how I got this hideous scar on my neck and collarbone.” 

He could hear the hurt and anger in her voice, not like from before, this was more personal, more private than the argument she had with Jordan. She was breaking down a wall for him, a wall he knows isn’t easy to let down. 

“My platoon was escorting some civilians back to another village after theirs was destroyed. There was a Humvee in front, the civilians in the middle and another Humvee, with me at the end.” She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath to calm her nerves. “We were heading up this mountain when an RPG hit the first Humvee. My Humvee stops on a dime, we all get out, returning fire. Most of the platoon was covering the civilians or on the other side of the Humvee, I was on the side closest to the hill. The next RPG hit the civilians car, turning it into a ball of flames. When the third and finally RPG hit the Humvee I was at, the blast sent me flying down the hill. The next thing I know, I’m waking up in the infirmary with my neck and collarbone stitched up, a few broken bones. I was the only survivor.” 

She wiped the tears from her eyes and sighed. “There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t wish I died along with them.” 

Alex could feel his own heart breaking in his chest, probably for the first time ever. He quickly embraced her in a hug, his arms wrapping around her in a firm hold. “I’m happy you didn’t, if you did we wouldn’t have ever met. You have made me a happier man Skylar, and I’ll never take that for granted.” 

She looked up at him with tear filled eyes and a small smile on her face. “You’ve made me happier too. And I will never take that for granted either. I always wondered why I survived, and maybe it was because the universe wanted me to be here, with Rainbow. Since coming here I have met my best friend, rescued countless people from terrorists and met this incredible guy that treats me like a queen.” 

“You are my queen.” He kissed the top of her head, lingering there for a moment. “Since you’re staying here for the holidays I was wondering if you would like to take a quick trip back to Russia?” 

“I would love too!” Her eyes lit up, and a big smile graced her face. “What’d you have in mind?” 

“I’m not sure yet. I have a small one bedroom apartment there and I could show you around Saint Petersburg?” 

“That sounds perfect. We can figure out what to do once we get there.” She leaned over, placing a firm kiss onto his lips. “When are we leaving?” 

“I’m hoping this weekend if seats are opened on a flight. Are you okay with that?” 

“Yeah.” 

Just as soon as Alex was about to say something, the comms rang out. 

“I need Tachanka, Phoenix, Hibana and Pulse to my office, now.” Thatcher said over the comms. 

They both raised a curious brow and got off the bed to head down to Thatcher’s office. If it was just them being called down, Skylar would be nervous thinking that Thatcher had found out they were romantically together and wanted to talk about that and how they ‘need to be professional out on the field’. Since Hibana and Pulse were called, she knew that wasn’t the case and that there was another mission about to take place. But she couldn’t help wonder why she was called again, she just got back with Thatcher not even a day ago, did he trust her that much to call her for yet another mission in such a short span of time? She was about to find out. 

“Why do I have a feeling he’s going to ruin our date plans by having us go out on a mission, kotyonok?” 

“Hopefully it’ll be a quick mission. I’m just wondering why I’m getting called so soon after the other one.” 

They made it to Thatcher’s office, walking in to see Hibana and Pulse already in there and seated. Skylar smiled at them both and sat down next to Hibana. She noticed she was wearing the heart necklace that Pulse had given her and chuckled. 

“It’s cute that you always wear the necklace Pulse gave you.” 

“I never take it off!” She held it in her hand, a small, proud smile gracing her face. “He told me about you and Tachanka, I never thought you’d be into older men.” 

“It’s not about age with me, it’s about personality and heart. Sometimes you just have to follow it.” She glanced over to Alex who looked bored and annoyed, making her laugh. 

Pulse leaned over a moment later. “You’re not upset that I told her about you guys right?” 

“No. I was going to tell her anyways, you just beat me to it. We are friends remember Jack?” 

“You three can finish your conversation later.” 

“Yes sir.” They all said in unison. 

“Now to business.” Thatcher leaned back in his chair, swiveling it slightly. “I need the four of you to drive into London tomorrow morning to pick up some supplies.” He handed each of them a list, all scanning it over. “The destination is written on the paper and I’d advise you to take two separate cars, most of that stuff is big. Dismissed.” 

They all got up to leave, once in the hall they all looked at each other. Skylar and Hibana were still reading over the list, the shipment was mostly weapons and some other things for the base. 

“At least it wasn’t a mission.” She looked over to see Alex looking grumpy. She poked his stomach and pouted her lips like a child. “Don’t be so grumpy, you’ll be spending six hours in a car with your favorite person.” 

“I’m not grumpy about that, kotyonok. I can think of a lot more ways to spend my day then to drive to London.” 

Skylar grabbed his hand, then turned to Hibana and Pulse. “We’ll see you guys in the morning.” 

She pulled him out of earshot of them before turning to him with a mischievous smile on her face. “If you don’t complain about this little errand we have to run tomorrow, I’ll surprise you with something when we get to St Petersburg.” 

“What would that surprise be?” He grabbed her hand, pulling her closer to him. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the way he was looking at her - a mix of lust and something else, she couldn’t put her finger on it. 

“Well it involves me, you, a bed and lots of lube.” 

“Do we have to wait until Russia?” 

“Depends on if you’re good or not tomorrow.” She grabbed his hand again and started walking back to his room. “I know it’s going to be a long, tiring day tomorrow, think of it as a plus. We get some privacy.” 

“You’re very optimistic.” He glanced down at her and chuckled when he saw the cheek grin spread across her face. 

“Well, yeah. I mean we work together and live in the same building, but there will always be times where we don’t see each other or can’t spend time together for one reason or another. So I’m just happy with any alone time we can get.” 

“I am too, that will never be a problem. I just don’t like using free time that could be used to do something different and more meaningful.” 

Skylar stopped in her tracks and turned to him, gazing into his blue-gray eyes. “We put our lives on the line every time we have a mission, not knowing if that will be the day we die. I don’t care how we spend our time together, whether it’s in a car for six hours or in your room….or even out on the town. I just want to spend it with the person I care about the most!” 

Alex just stared at her in complete wonderstruck. He wanted to give her everything under the sun and more, to shower her in gifts and take her out on romantic little vacations. Skylar didn’t need any of that, even if he was the one that wanted to give it to her and not the other way around. She didn’t care about materialistic things, all she truly cared about was him and spending time with him. 

Maybe he was hiding that fact from himself, to make it easier on him in the long run. Buy her love with gifts and such so she won’t find someone younger and better. He cursed himself thinking he needed to do that in the first place. Skylar was a beacon of hope, a glimmering star in the night sky, showing him the way. Showing him that he wasn’t alone.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got very long....like over 10.5K words long. And i apologize, i didn't mean for it to get this long, but I hope you enjoy! Also this chapter is pure self-indulgent so it can be skipped or skimmed and you won't really miss anything too important to the story line.

“I get why Thatcher wants you, Hibana and Pulse to go to London to grab supplies, but why Tachanka? No offense.” 

Skylar walked out of the bathroom after washing her face to see Ash getting ready to go for a run. She knew she had a point, why did Thatcher want Alex to go with them, it wasn’t like they couldn’t get the supplies with three people, or was it the fact they were going to London and Thatcher wanted the ‘buddy system’ since the supplies needed to be divided between two cars? Both were plausible reasons. 

“None taken.” She chuckled. “I think it’s the buddy system because we’re splitting the supplies between two cars and one of us would’ve been driving back alone. I’m not complaining that he got called for this little errand, I could be stuck in a car with Thermite.” 

“Of course you wouldn’t be complaining, you are the one dating him.” Ash opened a drawer in her nightstand, grabbing her headphones. “Speaking of Jordan, he told me about what you said to him when he apologized.” 

She turned to sit back on her bed, plugging her headphones into her phone. Skylar laughed as she tossed her purse onto her bed, then sat down. She was making sure she had everything with her before they headed out. Wallet, check. Phone, check. Keys, check. Other random things, check. 

“Hey I wouldn’t be upset if Thatcher chose you instead. Oh god, I was joking. Do you really think Alex would be okay with having a threesome with Jordan? Wait a minute what did Jordan say?” 

“He’s Russian Skylar.” Ash shook her head and rolled her eyes. “He told me you said he could join you guys someday, I think he’s taking it to heart.” 

“Oh Alexsandr is Russian? I never noticed.” She laughed as Ash threw one of her pillows at her, hitting her in the chest. “I did say that, but it was after I told him about the date Alex and I are going on this Friday. He said that we wouldn’t get to our destination, I then joked that I heard jealousy in his voice and he could join us someday.” 

Skylar threw Ash’s pillow back at her, then got up to grab her shoes. It was only 5:30 in the morning and they were supposed to be on the road by six to hopefully get to London by 9:30-10 o’clock. Depending on traffic. 

“Oh, he’ll forget about it in a few days.” She stood up, sliding her phone into her jacket pocket. “I”m gonna get this run done with, I’ll see you later tonight.” 

“He better or I’m gonna be in a pretty big pickle. And okay, see you tonight.” 

Ash headed for the door, as soon as she opened it Alex was standing on the other side with his fist in the air like he was just about to knock. She stepped aside, letting him go in, then left the room. 

“Hey, I’m almost ready.” 

“Take your time, we don’t leave for another thirty minutes.” He sat down next to her, playing with her hair as she tied her shoes. “So why is my kotyonok going to be in a pickle?” 

She nearly choked on air as soon as she heard him say that. Recomposing herself she turned to him, quirking a brow. “Are you eavesdropping on your girlfriend Tachanka? No, I’m kidding it was about Jordan. When he came to apologize yesterday he joked that we wouldn’t make it to our destination for our date. I then joked that I heard a little jealousy in his voice and said he could join us someday.” 

“Ah, and does the kotyonok want Jordan to join us?” 

“No, I don’t. If there was a person I wanted to join us, it would be Glaz.” Her eyes widened and she became flustered after she admitted that. “I just meant…..I’m gonna stop talking.” 

Alex stared at her in shock and disbelief, and the more he did, the redder her face got from embarrassment. He never would have guest she liked Glaz, she never made it seem like she did, then again she wasn’t the type to outright say who she likes. Romantically or not. 

“Glaz, hmm? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind joining us for a little fun.” He smirked and gently nudged her arm, making her laugh. “I didn’t even know you liked him.” 

“He’s sweet and pretty hot, but I clearly like you more. And please don’t tell him.” She sighed and scrubbed a hand down her face. 

He chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and kissed her head. “I never said you did. And your secret is safe with me, just tell me when you want Glaz to join us, I don’t mind.” 

“You don’t?” 

“Why would I? I’ve seen the way he looks at you, kotyonok. It’s up to you in the end.” 

Skylar shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Uh what do you mean by that?” 

“I’ll tell you in the car.” He let his arm drop, then stood up. 

She glanced over to the clock, then groaned. It was ten minutes to six and they needed to meet Hibana and Pulse before getting on the road. She stood up, grabbing her purse and slinging it over her shoulder. Walking to the door, she stopped with her hand on the door knob and turned to Alex who was right behind her. She smiled up at him, tugging his shirt until he was mere inches from her face and kissed him. 

“Before we get on the road. It’s going to be a long day with little to no contact.” 

Alex scoffed and grimaced. “Don’t remind me, I’m already hating it.” 

“Awe, you’ll survive.” 

She heard him scoff, then chuckle as she opened the door and headed out. Stopping a few feet away from the door, so he could come out, close the door so she could lock it. 

“I know I’ll survive, I just don’t like it.” 

Skylar threw her keys back into her purse and rolled her eyes. As they walked down the hallway side by side Alex kept brushing his hand against her, like he was going to hold it, only to pull it away a second later. After a few more attempts on his part, she sighed through her nose then intertwined their hands together. 

She looked up at him to see a proud smile across his face, like it was his plan all along. She turned away and smirked. “Grown ass man doesn’t know how to hold his girlfriend's hand.” 

He narrowed his eyes down at her, sighing through his nose. She met his gaze, quirking a brow as to taunt him. He looked away, lips pursed like he was thinking of a good comeback, but none came, he just kept quiet. It made Skylar smile. 

They made it to the front of building, Pulse and Hibana were already waiting for them. She let go of his hand the closer they got so she could hug Hibana. Hibana always smelled of white flowers, berries and crystalline musk, whatever perfume she had Skylar was a fan of. 

“You always smell so good Hibana.” Skylar chuckled and pulled away. “You guys ready for a long day?” 

“Beats being out on a mission Sky.” 

Skylar nodded in agreement, Pulse was right, it did beat having to be out on a mission. No terrorists to kill or a hostage to save, just a long drive down to London to pick up supplies before everyone headed off home for the holiday’s. Well mostly everyone. 

“Thank you! It’s Keiko Mecheri Hanae, a japanese perfume.” 

“I’m definitely going to have to buy some.” 

“Until you do, I’ll let you borrow mine if you want?” 

“I don’t normally wear perfume but I do have a date tomorrow night.” She glanced over to Alex who was scrolling on his phone, no doubt wanting to get on the road sooner rather than later. “And it’ll be nice to switch things up. I also think we should get going before someone has an aneurysm.” 

“Yeah. We’ll meet you guys at the warehouse.” 

“Okay.” 

She watched Pulse and Hibana leave the building before turning to Alex and grabbing his phone from his hand, forcing him to look at her. “Look I get you’re angry that Six chose you for some measly errand, but can you please act a little happy?” 

His face soften under her glare, and he sighed. “Yes I am a little angry that Six chose me to run some measly errand. Me, one of the older members to Rainbow and I get stuck on errand duty. The only reason I didn’t make a fuss is because my kotyonok is coming along too.” He took a few steps, placing both hands on her hips. “I promise I won’t be angry about it anymore.” 

“Thank you!” She handed him his phone back, giving him a small smile. “I’m just happy it wasn’t Thatcher who chose you to go or I probably would’ve been stopping a fight.” 

Alex grabbed her hand, gently squeezing it. “No, you wouldn’t have. I would’ve told him how I felt, but I wouldn’t have punched him.” 

“That would’ve been something I would pay to see.” She intertwined their hands together and walked outside, pulling him along. “I think we should take your car, it has more room in it than mine.” 

“We can take yours, it’s not a problem.” 

He started to head over to where her car was parked, Skylar planted her feet on the cold cement, hoping it’ll stop him from moving. “No, no it’s fine. We can take yours.” 

Alex stopped, turning to her with an amused brow. “Why doesn’t the kotyonok want me to see her car?” 

She groaned in defeat, letting go of his hand to shrug her shoulders. “I haven’t clean it in a while and I don’t want to go to the warehouse with a bunch of trash in the backseat. And I don’t want you to see how much of a slob I can be.” 

She averted her eyes to the ground, cheeks tinting red by how embarrassed she felt. She looked up when she heard him laugh, blushing even more when she saw the gleeful smile on his face. 

“Do you think I care about that stuff? I don’t, you should’ve seen me at your age.” He grimaced as he thought back on his younger adult years, making her giggle. “But we can take my car if it makes you feel better.” 

“It does.” She smiled up at him, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his car. 

She let go of his hand as they neared his car, patiently waiting by the passenger side door for him to unlock it. As soon as she heard the clicking of the lock she opened the door to get in and away from the cold weather outside. Closing the door beside her she placed her purse by her feet, not really caring if it got dusty or dirty. 

“I don’t know why I pictured you driving a truck and not a SUV type of car.” She chuckled as she click her seat-belt on, then grabbed her phone from her purse. Glancing at the time, they were already 30 minutes behind schedule. Good thing Pulse and Hibana were already on the road. 

“I used to drive a truck, had to upgrade once I got here. It’s not easy getting four big Russian’s into a three seater truck.” 

Skylar pictured Alex, Glaz, Kapkan and Fuze trying to squeeze into a three seater truck, struggling to all fit in. She couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of one of them having to sit on another one's lap, just so there would be enough room. 

“Did no one else have a car?” 

Alex put on his seat belt and put the keys in the ignition, turning it on. “Fuze did, it was piece of shit though. Always stalling.” 

“Reminds me of the car I owned in high school.” She unlocked her phone, deciding she would reply back to the message she got from her mom. Once she read it, she sighed and decided against it. “You know how I told you I said my parents were okay with me staying here for the holidays?” He nodded. “Well I lied, I haven’t told them yet and my mom keeps wondering when I’m coming back stateside. I don’t know how to tell them.” 

“Just tell them the truth, what’s the harm in that?” He pulled out of the parking lot and into the street, glancing between her and the road in front of them. 

“I know my parents won’t get mad as to the why I’m staying, I just don’t want to upset my mom. She gets so happy to see me, that this will crush her.” She grabbed her phone again, taking a deep breath before calling her mom. “I’ll just call her and get it over with.” 

It didn’t take long for her mom to answer the phone. “Skylar, it’s about time you called me.” 

“Sorry mom it’s been a hectic week. How’s dad?” She snorted when she heard her mom scoff, then the sound of glass clinking together. Knowing her mom she was either putting away dishes or getting some plates out for lunch. 

“Your father has been trying and failing on getting that vodka he wants to sell at the brewery. I’ve woken up in the middle of the night to find him downstairs in the kitchen trying to ferment potatoes. He’s fine on the other hand and misses you.” 

Skylar glanced over at Alex, a small smile tugging on her face. “I miss him too. And I actually found someone to help him with the vodka, he said he wouldn’t mind doing it.” 

“Really? Is he someone you work with?” She heard the sound of the dishwasher door being slammed shut through the phone. “Is that a car I hear? Skylar Elle you better not be talking on the phone while driving.” 

“Mom do you really think I would drive and talk on the phone? I’m not driving Alex is.” She rolled her eyes, feeling a little embarrassed by getting yelled at by her mom in front of Alex. 

“Okay, just making sure. Alex? He a friend of yours?” 

“Yeah he’s a friend of mine, a really close friend.” She mumbled the last part of the sentence, hoping her mom was to preoccupied with whatever she was doing now to notice. Then glanced over to him to see him smirking. 

“A really close friend, huh? Is he your boyfriend? And is he the one who is willing to help your father?” 

She playfully hit Alex’s arm when she heard him softly laugh, trying to make him stop - scrubbing a hand down her face and groaning. “Yes mom, he’s my boyfriend and no mom we haven't been together that long. And yeah, he is the one willing to help dad with his vodka problem.” She let out a content sigh, happy about confessing that but she needed to get to the elephant in the room. “Mom, I’m not coming home for the holiday’s and no it has nothing to do with Alex.” 

“Oh, why not? Everyone was excited to see you.” 

Skylar closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She opened them once she felt a hand on hers, giving it a gentle squeeze - looking over to see Alex giving her smile of encouragement. 

“I just don’t want to deal with all the questions from our relatives, they don’t understand that the majority of what I do is classified and they have no right to know. How many Christmases have I gone through that doesn’t end up in some verbal argument? Not many since I joined the marines. I’ll see of I can come home for my birthday though.” 

It took a few moments before her mom got back to her, making her heart beat rapidly in her chest. 

“I know our extended family can be quite…….nosy and I understand why you want to stay on base. I’m not trying to change your mind, but the family holiday party isn’t at our house this year, it’s at your aunts. If you decided to come, you don’t have to go to that party and Alex is more than welcome to come too.” 

“I’ll talk it over with him and give you an answer tomorrow. Today is a little too busy and we won’t be back at base until later tonight.” 

“Just tell me in the morning.” 

“Okay, and I should get going, long day ahead.” She chuckled, rubbing her ear from holding it too long while switching sides. 

“Alright, I love you.” 

“I love you too.” 

She hung up the phone, letting out another content sigh. Placing her phone in her lap she turned to Alex. “That went a lot better than expected and how much did you hear?” 

He intertwined their hands together, keeping on the steering wheel. “I told you it would and everything.” 

“Then what do you want to do? ‘Cause I still want to go to Russia and that would be a big pit stop to go to Maine first.” 

Deep down she was hoping he wasn’t ready to meet her parents so they didn’t have to go back to Maine, but she also wasn’t fully ready for him to meet her family either. There was still a lot to tell her mom before they even got on a plane. The age difference being the main thing and she wasn’t sure how they would take it. 

“We have nearly three weeks off, kotyonok we have enough time to go to both places. It’s up to you though.” He gave her a quick glance before keeping his eyes on the road. 

“I’ll think about.” She gave him a small smile. “Now I want to know what you meant by how you’ve seen the way Glaz looks at me.” 

Alex snorted and shook his head, but kept his eyes on the road since they were finally getting on the highway. She couldn’t help but wonder if Glaz liked her too and didn’t make a move because he knew Alex liked her too and didn’t want to make thing awkward. Glaz was sweet, and she could see him doing that. 

“I noticed him checking you out a few times, I didn’t think much of it until he started looking at you like a ripe piece of fruit ready to be eaten.” 

“Well you beat him to that.” She winked at him then chuckled, think back on their little shower fun they had a few days ago. “I do like Glaz and wouldn’t mind him joining us someday, it’s just…..I’ve never had a threesome before and I’m not sure if I’m ready for Glaz to see me naked.” 

“Honestly, I’m not in a hurry to have him join us, I very much like having you to myself. If you ever feel comfortable one day about it then I’ll happily oblige.” 

“Then you do care, which is fine. It’s not like I’m gonna run out and fuck Glaz anyways, that would be considered cheating and cheating is bad.” She chuckled, changing her position in the seat she was sitting in. 

With her free hand she grabbed her phone, unlocking it again to check her social media that she’s been neglecting for weeks. Most of it was just checking up on her sisters’ and seeing what they’ve been up too and the few close friends she made with her time in the FBI back in L.A before transferring over to Rainbow. 

“Okay, I care a little.” 

“Why?” She locked her phone again, letting it fall into her lap. When she looked over at him, she saw a certain sadness in the corner of his eyes, a sadness she wasn’t even sure exists in the older man. “Whatever it is, I’m not going to get mad as to why it bothers you.” 

“He’s younger, that’s all.” His grip on the steering wheel got tighter, making his knuckles turn white. Glancing over he saw the concern etched onto her face, his face soften and grip loosening around the steering wheel. “I’m sorry.” 

Skylar covered his hand with her free one, giving him a small smile. “It’s okay. Just...what’s wrong? You never seem to have any issue with Glaz before….Oh.” As she spoke it finally came to realization on why he was that upset. “Yes Glaz is quite attractive but I don’t want him, I want you and that’s not going to change Alex.” 

His eyes widened in surprise, glancing between her and the road numerous times before she had to snap him out of it. “You do?” 

She could help the small laugh that escaped her lips, making him turn to her with a curious brow. “Of course I do, you’re the first person I’ve like in over two years. You’ve already been there for me more times than I can count and we just started dating. And you’re helping me let go of all the shit I’ve been holding in - you’re making me a better person. I don’t care about your age, never have, all I care about is how you are as a person.” 

He put the turning signal on indicating he was switching lanes, he did so until he pull along side of the road, then turned on his hazard lights and set the car in park. She watched him with curiosity as he turned to her with that gleeful look in his eyes. He leaned forward, crushing their lips together - pulling away a moment later. 

“Ты мой рай, ты моё небо, ты моё солнце. You’ve made me a better person too, kotyonok. I know I shouldn’t think that way about Glaz, and it was wrong of me to get so upset about it too when I didn’t know how you really felt about him….me. I’m sorry.” 

Skylar leaned over, giving him a quick kiss. “You have every right to feel how you feel, sometimes our emotions drive us more than we would like them too. It’s also better to get it off your chest now then to deal with this in the future.” 

“Good point, kotyonok, good point.” She shut the hazard lights off, set the car in drive then got back on the highway. “Are you hungry by any chance? We left base pretty early and I don’t know if you’ve eaten anything or not.” 

“I haven’t eaten anything yet, wasn’t enough time. I’m a little hungry, but I can wait until we get to London or we can stop at some store to pick up snacks. Either works for me.” 

“We can stop somewhere if you like, it wouldn’t be a problem, kotyonok.” 

Skylar rolled her eyes and scoffed, making Alex glance at her with a raised brow. She knew what he was doing and as much as she would enjoy going to some restaurant for breakfast with him, it wasn’t fair to Pulse and Hibana if they got to the place late. 

“There’s nothing more I would like than to go out to breakfast with you, and if it was just us I’d say go for it. But we have Pulse and Hibana with us and it wouldn’t be nice to show up late to the warehouse.” She heard him mumble something in Russian, then narrow his brows. “I was thinking about calling Thatcher later and lying about having a flat tire, telling him that we might have to grab a hotel for the night but you seem fine with just running the errand. So I won’t both him.” 

He whipped his head to her so fast she thought he would’ve had whiplash. He looked at her with a sparkle in his eyes and a gleeful smile. “Skylar, I didn’t think you would lie to your mentor like that. That’s very sexy and you should do it, kotyonok.” 

The next second that past by her phone started to ring, she looked at the caller ID to see who it was, her heart sinking a bit when she read it was Thatcher. 

“Hello.” 

“Change of plans Phoenix, the shipment was supposed to be there at 11. Due to the weather and unforeseen fooking events, it won’t be there until 5 tonight.” 

“Are you serious?” She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “It’s fine, I’m sure we can figure out something to do to pass the time.” 

“Okay, and since it’s coming in so late I don’t expect to see you guys tonight, get a hotel and come back in the morning.” 

“You sure Thatcher?” 

“Yes. It’ll take a few hours to get the stuff loaded on with all the paperwork and with the holidays coming up, the roads are going to be busy. I don’t need any operators or supplies damaged. Just come in the morning.” 

“Okay then, we’ll see you in the morning.” 

They both hung up, she would've called Hibana but figured Thatcher had already did that or was about too. Setting her phone back in her lap she turned to Alex who was glancing at her with a curious brow. 

“Change of plans. The shipment isn’t coming in until 5 tonight and Thatcher said to just grab a hotel and come back in the morning. Luck is on our side tonight.” 

“Are you serious?” 

“Yup, and I can already bet that you have at least a few condoms in your pocket don’t you?” 

Alex smirked and went into his pants pocket, pulling out three of them. “Yes I do. I come prepared, kotyonok.” 

“Three? You really came prepared.” She joked. “I’m surprised you didn’t bring the whole box with you.” 

“I thought about it but I think three’s enough, don’t want to tire out my kotyonok.” 

Skylar scoffed, setting her phone in the cup holder that was closest to her. It wasn’t hard to get tired out when you’re in bed with Lord Tachanka, his libido was quite high for a guys his age and it didn’t help that she was so much smaller than him. But she could still hold her own against him, and last a good four rounds. 

“Someone’s getting cocky. I can also hold my own against you, thank you very much…..I just have a hard time walking afterwards.” 

“That you can! Do you want me to ease up, ‘cause I can?” 

“No, no it’s fine.” She tapped her fingers methodically on her knees, wondering if she should outright ask him what she wanted too. “So...do you have any family? I understand if you don’t want to talk about it, I just want to get to know you better.” 

“Not really, both parents are dead and I’m an only child. I do have some extended family still alive, but I hardly see them.” He gave her a quick glance, a small smile on his face. “They live in another city and work usually gets in the way. Didn’t you say you have siblings? Sisters’?” 

“Damn, I’m sorry!” She intertwined their hands together again, giving him a small smile in return. “Yes I do. Valary and Chloe, Val’s married to a guy named Evan who I’ve known since I was a toddler.” Alex raised an amused brow, making her chuckle. “She’s 12 years older than I am, when they started dating she was 14 making me 2. And Chloe is 10 years older than me, she’s also engaged to her long time boyfriend.” 

“That’s quite an age gap between siblings.” 

“Yeah it is. I wasn’t supposed to be born so late, there are just somethings that are out of our control. My parents always called me the miracle baby.” She saw the confusion etched onto his face, making her shake her head. “My parents were married straight out of high school and by their late 20’s they had my sister’s. A few years after Chloe was born they decided they wanted another child, but nothing happened. They went to the doctor to see if anything was wrong, there wasn’t, she just wasn’t getting pregnant. My mom told me they tried for years to have me and then they just gave up, figured it wasn’t meant to be. Until finally it happened. The strange thing is that it took a decade for me to be born, and during that time nothing happened.” 

“Wow, you really are a miracle baby.” His eyes widened briefly as he contemplated her words. “That is strange.” 

“Tell me about it. It’s one of those things you’ll never know for sure.” 

The rest of the drive to London was filled with small talk and listening to music. Alex did the wrong thing by giving the AUX cord to Skylar, so their music ended up being a mix of pretty much every genre of music, minus classical and jazz. They met Pulse and Hibana at some cafe for a mid morning breakfast, which was good because by the time they got their Skylar’s stomach was growling up a storm. 

Alex parked the car next to theirs, Skylar grabbed her phone and purse, then got out and stretched. Her limbs thanking her as she did. “Did you two have a nice drive?” 

“Can’t complain. Did you have a nice drive?” Pulse glanced between her and Alex, shooting her a suggestive look. “I’m surprised you guys even got here on time.” 

Skylar shot Pulse a look and shook her head. “Funny. I’m sure Thatcher called one of you and told you the change in plans?” 

“Yeah he called Hibana. So what are you guys going to do to pass the time? We decided to hit the mall and look around.” He glanced over to Hibana who was looking through her purse on the hood of Pulse’s car. 

“The kotyonok and I haven’t decided yet.” He crossed his arms, then leaned against his car. “It’s up to her.” 

“The mall sounds good to me.” She shifted her weight from her heels to the pads of her feet, smiling over at Alex like a little kid. “I do like shopping. Also can we continue our conversation indoors? I’m getting cold.” 

“Yeah, let’s head in.” 

They all headed into the Kennington Lane Cafe, it was cute and quaint and thankfully not packed. Deciding to sit at a booth, Skylar and Hibana took the seats next to the window while Alex and Pulse too the ones on the isle. Skylar set her purse aside and took off her jacket - Hibana doing the same. 

A few seconds later the waiter came over with some menus and go their drink order. Pulse and Alex got coffee’s while Skylar and Hibana got tea. It stayed quiet between them while they browsed the menu, deciding what they wanted to eat. It didn’t take long for her to figure out what she wanted to eat, so she set the menu aside. 

“Sky, you getting the vegetarian?” 

“How’d you know?” She joked. “Yes I am. Are you? Or are you getting something a little more meaty?” 

“A little more meaty for today.” Pulse set his menu down and took off his jacket. That’s when she saw he was wearing an FBI shirt, and chuckled. 

“You’re a vegetarian kotyonok?” Alex also set his menu down, taking off his jacket and turned his attention to her. 

“No, pescaterian actually. It’s like a vegetarian but I also eat fish and on rare occasion chicken and turkey.” 

“Oh, good to know.” 

She pulled his jacket from behind him and put it with hers. Next thing the waiter came back over with their drinks and took their orders. Skylar and Hibana got the vegetarian dish and Pulse and Alex built their own, both ended up with mostly meat on their plates. 

“I’m glad you decided to join us, now Pulse won’t be alone and bored while we shop.” 

“We’re probably going to bore them. It’s a good thing you’re going anyways, I need to look for a shirt for our date tomorrow night.” 

“You didn’t bring any formal wear with you, kotyonok?” 

“Nope, I have some nice things that could work for tomorrow, but I don’t like any of them.” Alex shook his head and laughed. Skylar looked over to see Pulse with a curious look on his face, like he wanted to ask something but wasn’t so sure if he should. “What is it Jack?” 

“Oh, it’s nothing.” He brushed it off like it was nothing, but she could see right through him. 

“Jack it’s fine, just ask.” 

He set his coffee cup down, putting his hands up in defense. “Okay, okay. What does kotyonok mean?” 

“Really? That’s all you wanted to know? Anyways, it means kitten.” 

“That’s so cute! And sweet!” chirped Hibana with a big smile on her face. 

“That is actually cute. So you’re like his little kitten?” 

“Yeah.” said Skylar with a big smile on her face. “I am.” 

“Well I want to know how you guys came to be? Because truthfully I didn’t even know you two liked each other.” 

Hibana was all giddy, like a little child. It made Skylar laugh at how happy she was to hear about it. She just wished her and Alex’s beginning of their relationship was a bit more romantic. 

“Well we sorta hooked up at the holiday party, then I avoided him for like two days afterwards.” She chuckled, glancing over at him. “It wasn’t until he started looking for me, wondering why. After the little shopping trip with Ash and Thermite, I met him in his room and we just confessed everything, that we wanted to be more than just friends with benefits. That’s pretty much it, not all that romantic but still good.” 

“Oh, so that’s how it happened. I just knew you slept with him.” 

“Yeah, thanks to Jordan.” 

Hibana glanced between Skylar and Pulse, raising a brow. “What about Jordan?” 

“When Alex went looking for me he ended up getting to Thermite first, at the exact same time when Ash and I were leaving base. We invited him along since we were going to the same place, that was the first mistake. “She chuckled. “After I talked to Alex for a few minutes, when I got to the car it didn’t take long for Thermite to open his mouth. At first I told him it was none of his business, but he was so afraid that I did something to put bad blood between the FBI and Spetsnaz because it’s not like Tachanka to go looking for someone. I told him we slept together to get him off my back, then he told the rest of them.” 

“Jordan really freaked out about that?” 

“Yup, it was quite funny. Then he kinda freaked about the whole relationship in general - he’s like that annoying big brother I never wanted.” 

Everyone laughed. What she said was true, Jordan was that annoying almost over protective big brother. Yes she understood where he was coming from, but at the end of the day she is a mature adult and can make her own decisions on who she dates. 

“Why was he freaking out about your guys relationship? He looks to be the type to not care who dates who.” Hibana took a sip of her tea, gently setting the cup down on the coaster. 

“At first it was the age gap between us, then he confessed that he didn’t want to see my ‘innocence’ taken away. I’ll tell you that story someday.” 

Luckily their food arrived, cutting their conversation short. They turned the conversations over to small talk while they ate. It was mostly about what their plans were for the mall...or shopping center. They still had a good 6 hours to kill before they had to get to the warehouse, and Hibana and Skylar weren’t trying to bore the living daylights out of Alex and Pulse by spending that time shopping. 

Alex brushed it aside and said he was fine following Skylar around while she shopped and Pulse didn’t have much of an opinion. 

They finished eating, paid and then headed back out to their cars. They made a plan to meet in the middle of the shopping center after an hour or so, since there were a few stores Hibana and Skylar wanted to go to separately. Then meet up and figure out what to do from there. 

xXx

“-I think today turned out to be a very good day.” Skylar looked up from the rack she was browsing and smiled over at him. 

He walked around the rack, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek. “It did turn out better than I thought. It also helps that I get to spend the day with my kotyonok.” 

She stayed in his arms, completely immersed in the swaying of their bodies. Until her eyes caught a glimpse of a blouse a few feet away. “Oooh.” She broke out of his hold, walking over to where the blouse hung. 

Alex chuckled and followed her, leaning against the wall as she examined it. His eyes never leaving her, watching how she looked over the white blouse in her hands. Her eyes tracing over every stitch, searing everything into her brain. He watched her walk over to the mirror a few feet away, holding it up to see how it would look on her. 

Skylar glanced over to him, seeing that he’s been watching her the whole time, but the look on his face made her heart skip a beat. He smiled over at her, and she returned it, then held up the blouse again to show him. 

“What do you think? Truthfully.” 

He pushed himself off the wall and walked over to her. “I’m the wrong person to ask this because I think you’ll look beautiful in anything. However white does bring out the color of your eyes. I think you should get it.” 

“Okay, and white brings out my eyes? No one has told me that.” She placed the blouse over he arm so it wouldn’t drag on the floor and she would have a free hand to browse around some more. 

“Do you wear white that often?” 

She shook her head. “No, I’m always afraid that I’m going to stain it. I do like white though and have quite a bit of white, i just hardly wear them.” 

“That makes sense. I’ve stained enough white shits in my life time to stop wearing them.” He chuckled. “White does bring out the green in your eyes and softens the brown. As does the colors blue and purple.” 

“They do?” 

“Just because I didn’t make a move until months later doesn’t mean I haven’t been watching you when we were in the same room together.” He laughed and shook his head, wrapping his arms around her - gazing into her hazel eyes. “I just didn’t make it obvious, kotyonok.” 

She leaned up, giving him a peck on the lips. “It’s funny that you mentioned it, because I always felt like someone was watching me, but could never figure out who. I’m glad it ended up being you.” 

This time he leaned down, placing a firm kiss onto her lips, momentarily forgetting they were standing in the middle of a store and not in his room back on base. It wasn’t until he tried to deepen it when Skylar snapped back to reality. She placed her hand on his chest, gently pushing him away. 

“Not here.” She felt her cheeks become warm, no doubt red as well. “I’m done here, so you wanna go?” 

“Yeah, lead the way.” Skylar turned and headed towards the cashier. “You’re cute when you get all flustered like that.” She just shook her head and continued walking. By the time she put her shirt up on the till Alex was already taking his wallet out of his pocket. “I’ll pay.” 

“Alex it’s fine, you don’t have too.” Her hand was already in her purse, fetching her wallet. 

“I want too.” 

Skylar nodded and took her hand out of her purse. As sweet as it was, she didn’t want him to buy everything for her, there was no need when she had more than enough money to buy it herself. 

“At least let me carry the bag.” She grabbed it off the counter while he swiped his credit card to pay. 

The cashier grabbed the receipts and a pen. “Sign here and here’s your receipt.” 

He grabbed the pen, quickly signing his name and took the receipt. “Thanks.” 

“Have a nice day!” 

“You too!” 

They walked out of the store and into the grounded shopping center. Skylar automatically intertwining their hands together, so she wouldn’t get lost from him. The holidays always gave her slight anxiety, especially shopping during the holidays. Everything was so chaotic, and it didn’t help that they still had an hour until they met up with Hibana and Pulse. Then another 3 hours until they get the supplies they came for in the beginning. 

Alex glanced over to her, seeing the uncertainty etched on her face. “Kotyonok, you alright?” 

“Yeah, can we go somewhere with less people?” 

“Of course.” He led them throw the plethora of people until they came to the food court with hardly any people in it, which was shocking. He walked them over to a table, Skylar sat down with a content sigh, and he took the seat across from her. “Better?” 

“Much better.” She slung her purse from her shoulders and placed it on the table. “I get anxiety with big crowds.” 

“Good thing you told me, now I can make sure we avoid big crowds.” 

“Well we don’t need to avoid crowds all together, just shopping ones around the holidays.” She laughed, then put the bag with her shirt in it in her purse. “I’ve been thinking about what we talked about in the car, about going back to Maine and Russia. I think we should, and it’ll get rid of the anxiety I have of introducing you to my family. Are you still okay with going?” 

“Yes I’m still fine with going, it’ll be a nice vacation before work starts up again.” He grabbed her hand, thumb caressing her knuckles. “Are you really that nervous about introducing me to your family?” 

“That’s the thing, I know they’re going to like you, that’s not the issue it’s….”

“The age difference, right?” 

He seemed hurt by that accusation, making her feel a little bad about it, but these were her parents he was meeting, not friends or work acquaintances that don’t really have a say. She also knows her parents very well and knows that once she tells them there’s an age gap between them, they’ll be fine with it in the end. All they care about is how he treats her, nothing else. 

“The one thing I like about my parents is they don’t care about looks, or age, all they care about is how you treat me. When I call my mom, I’ll tell her about the age difference and she’ll be fine with it.” She tried to conceal the big smile that was threatening to show, but failed. “Now you look cute when you get all nervous like that.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” He swatted his free hand in the air, and smiled over at her. 

xXx

They met up with Hibana and Pulse not long after, all deciding the should get their rooms for tonight at a nearby hotel before they went to grab the supplies knowing they’ll all be exhausted afterwards. 

Skylar plopped herself down in the large chair in their hotel room and groaned, she was already tired enough and didn’t want to leave in another two hours. That’s when the invisible light bulb above her head went off, she nearly launched out of her seat and went to the bathroom, flipping the switch on. 

Alex watched from couch in amusement, seeing her face light up once she saw what she was looking for in the bathroom. She flip the switch off, walked over to him and straddled him. “There’s a tub in the bathroom, an actual tub. I can finally have that bath.” 

He failed to conceal that booming laugh of his, finding it both hilarious and cute that she was this happy about a bathtub. “I was hoping you would figure it out.” 

She looked down at him in disbelief, and lightly shoved at his shoulder. “You didn’t? You got this room for me?” 

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. “I did, I thought it would be a nice surprise. I know you’ve been wanting this for a while now, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to please my kotyonok.” 

“I would say you didn’t need too, but I know the answer. You wanted too.” She leaned down, kissing him passionately before pulling away. “I’ll show you my thanks later. After I have a bath that is.” 

“You can show me your thanks in the bathtub.” He gave her a suggestive look, making her roll her eyes. “I wouldn’t mind.” 

“And get water everywhere? I’ll think about it.” She got off his lap and sat down next to him. “I can’t wait until our vacation.” 

“Me too.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “It’ll be nice to see where you grew up.” 

“Don’t get your hopes up, it’s not that fantastic.” 

It was actually quite the opposite, Bangor wasn’t a huge place but it did have a few museums, parks, a casino, the pavilion that held concerts in the summer and the famous Stephen King house. Besides those, it was a pretty boring place. But it was home to her nonetheless and she would be lying if she wasn’t excited to show him where she grew up and all the places she frequented while living there. 

“I highly doubt that. Every place has its perks.” 

“Has anyone told you you have a somewhat of a acerbic outlook?” 

She looked up at him, he looked like he was thinking about what she said. “No, not that I can recall.” 

“Ha ha. Very funny.” She scoffed. “I am excited to show you around Bangor, only downside is it’s winter and most of the ‘tourist’ destinations are closed.” 

“That’s fine, kotyonok. Not like it’s going to be the only time we go.” 

She just nodded. He did have a point, they would probably go back here and there throughout the year. As long as they both had time off at the same time. The one thing she was looking forward to was taking a long walk at the Bangor City Forest in the spring, seeing all the flowers in bloom and hearing the birds chirp. 

“There’s a tradition in my family, every spring the fam and I would take the day off and go hiking and spend the day at the Bangor City Forest. I would like you to come next year, if you’re willing.” 

“I would like that!” 

“Okay. It’ll be fun, it’ll start off nice and quiet, than ends with me being in an argument with one of my sisters’.” She chuckled. “Happens every time.” 

“Are you being serious?” He scanned her face, looking for any sign she was lying but found none. “Okay why?” 

“No, I’m just joking we don’t fight that much. There is a lot of bickering though.” 

Alex’s face faltered, making Skylar fall over laughing. All he did was stare at her dumbfounded and shook his head. “I should’ve known the little kotyonok was lying.” 

He spread her legs apart, placing himself in between them. Her laughter died down as she stared up into his eyes, grabbing his shirt and tugging him down, crushing their lips together. He pulled away panting a few moments later, looking down at her with lust filled eyes. 

Skylar smirked and showed him the little blue packet the was between her fingers. “Come on we ain’t got all day.” 

He snatched the condom from her hand and began working on the button of her pants as she did his. “I see we have a feisty kotyonok, I might need to do something about that.” 

xXx

Skylar was trying to ignore the slight ache between her legs while she stayed in the front of the warehouse with Hibana and Alex while Pulse took care of all the paperwork with the guy before they could load the supplies. 

She just wanted to get this over with and go back to the hotel room for a long deserved bath. And get a little payback. She was now regretting the little comment she made to him, knowing she wouldn’t be able to do anything until they got back and it irked her to no end. 

A few moments later she felt a little tug on her jacket, she turned to see a little girl that looked no older than seven. She smiled down at her. “Hello there!” 

“Hi. I think you’re really pretty and I like your jacket.” 

“You’re so sweet, thank you! I also really love your shirt. Are cats your favorite animal?” 

She watched the little girls face light up at her question, it made her happy to see how happy she was. “You’re welcome! Yes they are, I have two at home. Do you like cats?” 

“Wow two? What’re their names? I love cats, I grew up with them and miss having them around.” 

“Yup, their names are Cookie and Midnight. Why can’t you have cats?” 

“Cookie and Midnight are perfect names. I use to have a cat named Cookie too when I was younger. Where I live I can’t have animals, it sucks.” 

The little girls face lit up again, it was such an innocent thing but seeing how happy she was at something so small just put a smile on her face. 

“That does suck. If you can’t have pets why do you live there?” 

“Grace, love leave that young lady alone.” 

Skylar glanced over at the man with Pulse who turns out to be the girl father then to the Grace who pouted her bottom lip. 

“Oh no it’s okay. She’s not a bother.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Completely.” 

“Okay.” 

Skylar smiled back down at her. “So your name is Grace? That’s a very pretty one. Mines Skylar.” 

She nodded. “Yes it is. Thank you, Skylar is pretty too. Are they your friends?” 

Grace judded her chin towards behind her where everyone else was. “You’re welcome! Yes they are my friends. The one with your dad, his name is Jack, the other women with me, her name is Hibana and the man sitting in the chair on his phone, his name is Alex.” 

She looked behind Skylar and towards Alex, then back to her. “I think Alex likes you. He keeps looking at you with googly eyes.” 

“I think Alex likes me too.” She glanced over her shoulder to see him smirking and trying to conceal a laugh. 

“How do you know?” 

“Well he’s my boyfriend.” 

Grace gasped. “Does your dad know you have a boyfriend? My dad said I can’t date until I’m way older.” 

Skylar couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes he does know I have a boyfriend. And that’s good, you shouldn’t date until you’re way older.” 

“That’s good.” 

“Hey guys we can get the supplies now.” She glanced over her shoulder to see Pulse standing in the middle of the room trying to get everyone's attention. 

“Awe you have to leave?” 

“Not yet, we have to load up the supplies into our cars.” 

“Can I help?” 

“Ask your dad okay.” 

Grace nodded and ran over to her dad. Skylar slowly walked over to where they were while Alex waited at the entryway. She mouthed ‘one moment’ before leaning against the counter. 

“I see Grace has taken a liking to you.” He smiled down at her, making her a little embarrassed. “Are you sure you’re okay with her helping you? I’ve seen the supplies that came in for you guys.” 

“She’s sweet and very nice.” She gave her a big smile, that she returned. “I’m sure there’s a few things she can help carry out.” 

He nodded and turned to Grace. “Okay, now you listen to her and don’t touch anything unless she tells you too.” 

“Okay!” She ran around the counter until she was next to her, with a big smile on her face. 

They both walked over to where Alex stood, she was expecting for Grace to become a little shy around him, but she didn’t, she kept her very happy-go-lucky personality. “Alex, this is Grace. She’s going to be helping us. Grace, Alex.” 

“Hi Alex.” 

“Hi Grace. An extra helper is always a great thing.” 

They followed him into the warehouse, seeing Pulse and Hibana already getting some of the larger stuff onto a trolley. Skylar began looking over the boxes, most of them were a decent size and too big for her to carry. She sighed and put her hands on her hips. 

“We’re going to start with the bigger boxes, then work down okay?” 

“Okay.” 

Alex pulled the trolley closer, then picked up one of the bigger boxes and set it on the trolley. She watched as Grace’s mouth fell open and eyes go wide. “Wow, he’s really strong!” 

“He is strong.” She looked over to see him picking up another box. “Do you need any help?” 

He set the other box on top of the first one. “No, I’ve got the bigger ones. You can look through the others to see what’s light enough for our little helper.” 

“Okay.” 

While he gather the few other huge boxes, setting them on the trolley she looked over at the smaller ones, crouching down to examine them. Grace was right beside her sitting on the floor as she patiently waited. 

Skylar opened up a box, making sure nothing harmful was in it. “Do you help your dad often?” 

“Yeah. He’ll pick me up from school and he’ll buy me ice cream before coming here. But I have to finish my school work before I can help him.” She groaned and crossed her arms. 

“I know school work can suck, but it’s important you do it to get good grades.” She slide the box over to her. “Is that too heavy for you?” 

Grace stood up and picked up the box with ease. “Nope.” 

“Okay.” Skylar grabbed a slightly bigger box that had some ammo cartridges in it. “Follow me.” 

She walked out of the backroom of the warehouse, followed by Grace until they came to Alex’s car. He was already loading the big boxes into the trunk, and she was now thankful they did take his car instead of hers. There was no way she would be able to fit all the supplies in her tiny little Honda Accord. 

“Should we just put these in the back seat?” 

Alex turned to them after sliding the last box into the far end of the trunk, wiping the sweat off his brow. “Yeah, the smaller ones can go in the back seat until I get the last two big boxes.” 

Skylar walked over to the passenger side door, balancing the box on one arm as she opened the door. She placed the box behind the driver's seat and pushed it to the middle. “You can set the box on the seat or the floor, whichever you prefer.” 

Grace set the box down on the seat, then crawled into the car, pushing the box to the middle of the seat and placing it on top of the one Skylar put in. She crawled her way out and jumped down. She shut the door and they headed back inside. 

Skylar began looking through the boxes again, most of the stuff was pretty heavy and it left very little for Grace to help. Alex was getting the two other big boxes loaded on to the trolley. She stopped browsing the boxes, getting a little too distracted by watching him pick up the last couple of big boxes they had left. Noticing how his muscles flexed as he picked them up, that’s when she realized he wasn’t wearing his jacket. 

“Skylar, you’re staring all googly eyed at your boyfriend.” 

She snapped back to reality when she heard her whisper that into her ear, making her a little flustered. “Sorry.” 

She went back to looking over the boxes, hearing Grace giggle beside her. Luckily she found another handful that she could help carry out to the car. She grabbed one, handing it to her, then grabbed a box herself. 

As they headed towards the car, Alex was already coming in with the empty trolley. He smiled over at Skylar, and chuckled. “Yeah Skylar don’t stare all googly eyes at me while we have work to do.” 

“You were staring all googly eyed first.” 

She heard his booming laugh as he continued walking into the warehouse. With this box being a little bigger than the first, she placed it on the ground before opening the door, sliding it in next to the other box. Grace did the same thing as before and placed the smaller box she was carrying on top of hers. 

After Grace was done placing her box in the car she turned to Skylar, biting her bottom lip and fidgeting with the hem of her jacket. “You can ask me.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Positive.” 

She relaxed a little, then pointed at the scar on her neck. “What happened?” 

Skylar took an intake of breath and leaned against the car, crouching a little to be more at Grace’s height. “I got really hurt when I was a marine, I got hit with metal plating when something exploded. I don’t remember much of what happened, just a big bang and next thing I know I was waking up in the hospital.” 

Grace stared up at her with her mouth agape, and shock etched on her face. “Was Alex there to protect you?” 

“No, I didn’t know him at that time.” 

“Oh.” She slumped her shoulders and pouted her lip. “I’m sure he would’ve protected you if he was there. And did it hurt when you got hurt?” 

“Let’s head inside.” Skylar pushed herself off the car and they both began heading in. “I’m sure he would’ve protected me too. I didn’t feel anything in the beginning but I had to have a lot of stitches and they itch after a while.” 

“Yeah, stitches do itch. I had to get 5 of them on my leg last summer, I was riding my bike and fell.” 

“I’m sorry to hear about that. It’s no fun getting hurt during the summer.” 

“Thanks, and no it’s not.” 

“You’re welcome!” 

When they got back into the warehouse, Skylar noticed that Alex had loaded up almost all of the remaining boxes, leaving a few for them. “I’ll just let you take care of it next time.” 

“Just making sure the kotyonok can get back to the hotel soon so she can have that bath she’s been dying for.” 

“What does that mean?” 

Alex pushed the trolley with the remainder of the boxes, minus a few by Skylar and Grace. Skylar shot him a look and shook her head before turning to Grace. “Kotyonok means kitten in Russian.” 

“Oh so that’s where he’s from.” 

Skylar couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips. Grace was such a wonderful and funny little girl, having her around had definitely made getting the supplies much worth it. 

They walked over, grabbing the last few boxes and followed after Alex. He was already loading the boxes on the other side of the car, leaving their side opened. Skylar walked over to the car, placing both of the boxes on the floor, closest to the door while Grace set the last two on the seat. 

“I thank you for being such a big help Grace!” She closed the door and smiled down at her. 

“You’re welcome! I’m glad I could help, are you going to come back someday?” 

“I hope I do. Do you want me too?” 

Grace nodded her head frantically, a big smile on her face. “YES!” 

“Well Alex and I are going on vacation in a few days, before we go back to work we’ll stop by okay?” 

“Yay!” She jumped up and down in excitement - it was heartwarming. “Where are you guys going?” 

Skylar grabbed her hand and began walking them both back inside, out of the cold winter weather. “First we’re going back to my hometown, Bangor Maine to visit my family, then we’re going to his hometown in Russia.” 

“I hope you guys have fun.” 

“Thank you! I think we’ll have a lot of fun.” 

They came to the lobby where Hibana and Pulse were talking with Grace’s father. She let go of Skylar’s hand and ran over to him. 

“Daddy, daddy Skylar said she’s going to come visit again.” 

Skylar leaned against the counter next to Hibana, smiling down at Grace who was tugging on her father’s shirt. Pulse and Hibana looked over at her, a smile gracing both of their faces. 

“I see you made a friend Sky.” 

“Yes I did.” 

Her father look down at his rambunctious little girl, then over to Skylar. “Did she? We’ll that’s very nice of her.” 

“I couldn’t say no to her and it’s not a problem, I’m going on vacation in a few days and told her I’ll stop by before I get to base.” She felt a hand on her hip, knowing exactly who it was behind her. 

“We should get going, a long road ahead.” Jack put his wallet back in his pocket and they all pushed away from the counter. 

Grace ran around the counter again and hugged Skylar around the legs. It made everyone stop and watch them. “Bye Skylar, I’m glad I met you!” 

“I’m glad I met you too Grace!” 

xXx

The warm water of the bath felt amazing against her muscles, not really noticing how tense her muscles were until she got into the water. A shower could only do so much to relax them, but a long hot bath was the key. 

Alex walked into the bathroom in just his boxers a few seconds later. She moved down a bit to give him more room to get in. He pulled his boxers down, discarding them on the bathroom floor, then got in. He let out a relaxing sigh as the warmth penetrated his muscles, relaxing them. 

Skylar moved over to straddle him again, the water swaying with her as she moved. He sat up a little straighter, wrapping his arms around her body - kissing a part of the scar on her neck. 

“You’re good with children, kotyonok! Grace really likes you.” 

“She was such a sweetheart!” She chuckled, tracing one of his scars on his chest. “I always found that funny considering I’ve never really been around children. They just seem to gravitate to me.” 

His grip around her tightened, pulling her closer to him as she could go. “It comes naturally to you. I could easily tell when I saw you with Grace, how at ease she was around you, for someone she had just met. You’d make a great mother someday.” 

“If I even have kids…..but thank you!” 

“Never say never, kotyonok. You might meet a very handsome Spetsnaz soldier and change your mind.” 

Skylar moaned as he began to kiss and nip at her neck, his hands ravaging her body while hers wrapped around his neck. “So Glaz then?” 

He immediately stopped his attack on her neck and looked down at her with his mouth agape. “Someone older than Glaz.” He saw her opening her mouth to speak…”And older than Fuze and Kapkan.” 

“Hmph.” She dropped her shoulders and pouted her bottom lip. “You got me.” She chuckled and kissed him. “I’m kidding. You know that.” 

“I know, doesn’t mean you didn’t surprise me with your answer.” 

“I saw the opportunity and I took it.” A hand slid down his chest and into the water, gripping the shaft to his semi-erect cock. “Like I’m gonna take the opportunity to get payback from earlier.” 

xXx

Later that night Skylar fell asleep in his arms, like all those other times they’ve shared a bed. He couldn’t sleep himself, no matter how much he wanted too, so he just spent that time watching a sleeping Skylar still in his arms. 

She looked peaceful in her slumber, and occasionally he would see her smile, hoping she was dreaming something good. 

He started this day off in a sour mood, not too keen on running an errand. But he’s happy the day turned out amazingly better than he could have expected and it all had to do with one FBI operative asleep in his arms. Now he can’t wait for their little two week vacation together, two full weeks together, no other operators, no work, just them. Nothing could make things better.


	8. Chapter 8

“-It looks like the only available flight is Monday morning at 10.” Skylar sat down on the bed, moving over to snuggled against Alex. 

They still had a few more hours to kill before they could check out and head home, so to pass the time they were spending it in bed. Skylar was a little upset that they had to leave, but if it wasn’t for the fact they were both going on vacation soon she would’ve made some excuse to bid more time. 

“That’s fine, kotyonok. Didn’t you say it was an eight hour flight?” He set his phone on the bed, and kissed her head. 

“Yeah, if there are no delays we should be in Maine by six. I’m just happy I have my own apartment because I don’t know how I would feel about having sex in my parents home.” 

She chuckled, the last time that happened she was 17, just before she joined the Marines and her parents weren’t even home. But Alex was a very vocal man, not just in nature but in bed as well and it wouldn’t take a lot to figure out what they’re doing. 

“I’m sure your parents wouldn’t mind. So what are the plans?” He looked down at her, seeing the wheels in her brain turn. 

“I know they wouldn’t, it’s just weird. I think once we get there, we’ll stop at my place first and drop off our things, then head over to my parents. Or they’ll come over since we traveled. Other than that I don’t know.” 

She was leaning more towards the latter, her parents would only say it’s fair that they go to her and not the other way around. Since she was the one that traveled to come visit. 

“Sounds perfect! I am looking forward to seeing my kotyonok apartment, making some new memories there.” His hand slid down her side to grab her ass, she gasped and slapped his shoulder playfully. 

“For a man who’s 50 you have a libido of a damn teenage boy.” She chuckled, moving his hand off her ass. “Also no, we can’t be late and we have a date tonight remember?” 

Alex let out a booming laugh that echoed off the walls of their hotel room, then leaned down and kissed her. “Is it so bad that I want you so much Skylar? I would never forget an important thing like that. Yes I remember.” 

“No, it’s actually quite great you want me so much” She smiled up at him, then leaned forward and kissed him. “It makes me feel all fuzzy inside.” 

Truth be told she felt it was a miracle that someone liked her this much and wanted to spend so much time with her. Someone who was willing to help her through her struggles and let go of the past. Alex wasn’t a perfect man, but he was perfect to her. 

“Good, because it’s not going to change, kotyonok.” 

“I hope not.” She laid her head on his chest, sighing in content. “I should probably call my mom to tell her we’re coming. And we should probably buy the tickets too.” 

Skylar grabbed her phone and sat up, running her fingers through her hair as she hit the speed dial button for her mom. Alex sat up, placing his phone on the night stand beside him. While she waited for her mom to answer the phone he grabbed her waist, lifting her up and setting her on his lap. 

She smiled as his arms wrapped around her waist, swaying them back and forth as he laid his head on her shoulder. 

“Hi sweetie.” 

“Hi mom, just wanted to inform you we should be there Monday evening. That’s the earliest flight we can get.” She shook her head when he started kissing at her neck, slapping his arm to make him stop. 

“That’s fine, just call us when you arrive at your place and your father and I will come over for a few hours. So I assume Alex is coming too by the ‘we’ part?” 

“Yes, it’ll be a nice change of scenery. We’ll be staying for the week then heading over to Russia the next and we have to stop back in London for a quick visit. And what about my sisters’, they won’t be with you?”

“Val and Chloe have last minute work before Christmas to take care of, they’ll see you the following morning. Russia? Why there?” 

Skylar muffled a laugh and shook her head. “Alex is Russian mom, he’s going to show me around his hometown of Saint Petersburg. And speaking of Alex I should also mention he’s older than me, by a lot. Oh I should’ve known they would be working.” 

Alex stopped swaying them, he kept his head on her shoulder, listening to hear what her mom was going to say. He believes Skylar that her parents aren't going to care about the age difference, but deep down he still worries. The last thing he wants is too lose her. 

“That’s sweet of him, and take pictures. Skylar you know your father and I don’t care how old he is, as long as he’s treating you good that’s all we care about. By the sound of your voice, I’d say he is.” 

“I will, don’t worry.” She smiled, feeling his lips brush against her neck. “He treats me better than good mom, he treats me like a queen. I’ve never met someone so caring, and in a way he reminds me of dad and how he is with you. I know you guys don’t care, but there’s always that little fear you will.” 

Skylar heard one of the kitchen chairs slid across the floor, knowing her mom was about to sit down. 

“If he’s anything like your father, than he’s a good man with a big heart. Someone who’s willing to go above and beyond for the people he cares about. You’re worried we won’t accept him, aren’t you?” 

“A little.” She sighed, pulling Alex closer to her with her free hand. “I know it’s a ridiculous thing to think, knowing that you will accept him. I don’t know it’s a weird feeling.”

“Oh Skylar you were the one to overthink things.” She chuckled. “Would it make you feel better if I knew how old he was?”

She craned her neck to look at him, making sure he was okay with it. All he did was nod his head and mouth ‘go for it’. 

“That’s true I always was the one to overthink things. And uhm Alex is 50.” 

She felt her heart beat rapidly in her chest, her mom taking longer to answer than anticipated which didn’t help with her small case of anxiety. She was either contemplating what she just said or was thinking up the right words to say to her. 

Alex rested his forehead on her shoulder, closing his eyes as he too waited for a reply. He was so use to having a joyous outlook on life, not really caring about the bad stuff, but this, this was different. He’s never cared for someone so much as he does Skylar and if he even has to prove it to her parents, he will. 

“That doesn’t bother me Sky.” They both let out a breath and chuckled. “I don’t care how old he is, from what you said he’s treating you good and that’s all I care about. And you should know he’ll be a part of this family in no time.” 

Alex held her tighter, planting tiny kisses upon her neck. She craned her neck again, gazing into his blue eyes, then gave him a peck on the lips. “I know, I know. And that is true. Oh before I forget I met the sweetest little girl yesterday while we were picking up the supplies. She helped Alex and I put them in his car.” She sighed through her nose. “Dammit, I should’ve gotten a picture. Oh well next time, we’re seeing her again in a few weeks.” 

Skylar could hear her laugh on the other side of the phone. She could even see the smile she had on her face. 

“Kids did always gravitate to you, and you were never the one to push them away. That shows you’ll be a good mother someday.” 

“Well that’s not gonna happen anytime soon. Kids are a lot of work and I’m not sure if I’m ready for that responsibility.” She glanced at the clock on her nightstand and sighed. “I should get going, we need to check out of the hotel soon and head back to base.” 

“Okay, call me Sunday and we can arrange what we’re doing when you guys come. I love you.” 

“I will and love you too.” She hung up the phone then tossed it in front of her. “That went way better than expected holy shit.” 

“Kotyonok, even I am relieved it went that well.” 

She moved off his lap to get a better look at him, his blonde hair was still disheveled from when they slept, not bothering to brush it yet. Hell both of them weren’t even dressed yet, Alex was still in his boxers and Skylar was in her underwear and the shirt she warn yesterday. She starting to kick herself for not buying another pair of close for the night. 

“Now we don’t have to worry about any of that, we can just focus on tonight and then packing for Monday.” 

“Our first official date, something I wanted for so long kotyonok.” 

Skylar smiled, crawling over to straddle him. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she settle onto his lap. “Me too, even if I was trying to hide my feelings for you. I’m also excited to see the place you picked since you won’t tell me anything.” 

His arms wrapped around her torso, resting just above her ass. “I think you’re going to like it. Or at least I hope you do.” 

“I’m sure I will, I love food.” She slid his hands down to his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath her palms. “I was also thinking that maybe tomorrow we could go for that breakfast date you wanted so badly yesterday.”

“Really?” He quirked his brow and smirked. “What made the little kotyonok change her mind?” 

“I never said I didn’t want to go to breakfast with you, I said it wouldn’t be nice if we went when we had Pulse and Hibana with us. You dumb dumb.” She shook her head and laughed, then picked up her phone again. “Do you a specific place you want to sit on the plane?” 

“Dumb dumb?” He grabbed her hips, yanking her towards him with ease. She gasp at the sudden contact and fell on her back, he was on top of her mere seconds later. “That’s not a very nice thing to say Skylar.” His index finger trailed down her shirt and over the front of her panties, hitting her womanhood. “I might need to teach you some manners little kotyonok.” 

Skylar looked up at him, then sighed - bringing her hand up to his cheek and gave him a few light taps. “You can teach me some manner later, now we need to pick our seats for the plane ride back to Maine.” 

Alex let out another booming laugh, at this point she was positive he doesn’t know how to be a quiet man. Heaven help her if they ever have children. 

She wiggled out from under him and sat up, unlocking her phone with a chuckle. “I like the window seat, hopefully there’s one still available. I guess you don’t have a preference since you didn't answer my question.” 

She glared up at him and shook her head. Skylar was starting to get a little annoyed that his mind was always on sex and not more important matters. 

“No kotyonok, I don’t have a preference. You can pick the seats.” 

“Thank you. Now that wasn’t so hard you big ole sex fiend.” 

Alex’s mouth fell agape, eyebrows knitting together in a curved line. He watched her worked her phone while she picked their seats for their flight on Monday, still in shock at what she said. He never expected Skylar to be such a firecracker and he would be lying if he said he doesn’t like it. 

“Sex fiend and dumb dumb? I’ll get my payback later Skylar, don’t you worry.” 

She didn’t look up from her phone, too busy with buying their plane tickets. Once that was done she set her phone aside and looked up at him. “Keep it up Alexsandr and I’ll be sleeping in my own bed tonight.” 

He narrowed his brows at her and sighed. It made her laugh that she could make the blunt Lord Tachanka at loss for words. It wasn’t an easy feat and Skylar kinda thought of it as a little victory. 

She moved over to straddle him, arms wrapped around his neck as she settled down on his lap. “Do you really think I’ll be sleeping in my own bed tonight?” 

“I was hoping not, kotyonok!” He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him - kissing a small portion of the scar on her neck. “I don’t like being away from you. It doesn’t feel right.” 

Skylar’s face softened, a small smile spreading across her face. She was at loss for words, no one had said anything like that too her before, but she couldn’t help but wonder why it didn’t feel right to him to be apart from each other. Even for a few hours. 

She leaned down, placing a passionate kiss upon his lips and brought him in for a hug. Her head resting on his shoulder as his arms that were wrapped around her torso kept her in a firm hold. “Why doesn’t it feel right?” 

Alex went quiet, trying to pull her even closer to him. “This last week has been the best week of my life. All of this seems like a dream and I’m just waiting to wake up and find out we aren’t together. I don’t want that, I don’t want to go back to how it was before. I want to keep waking up next to you every morning, wrapping my arms around you and kissing you awake. Hearing you mumble something incoherent, only to have you turn around to face me with a smile on your face.” 

Skylar lifted her head off his shoulder, wiping away the few tears that were threatening to fall and gazed into his eyes. “I’m happy this isn’t a dream, that we can wake up next to each other every morning.” She gave him a small smile, then sighed. “You have me Alex, you always will.”

“And you have me kotyonok, you always will.” 

She leaned down and crushed their lips together - pulling back with a big smile spread across her face. If there is a God up there beyond the clouds, she has no idea what she did to deserve someone like Alex. Someone who cared for her so deeply. Whatever God it was, she was in his debt. 

“How did I get so lucky?” 

Alex moved a hand to the small of her back, easily flipping their position. She landed on the mattress with a soft thud - eyes locking together. “You’re not the only one who got lucky, kotyonok. I feel like the luckiest man in the world to have you by my side!” 

She leaned up, planting a firm kiss on to his lips. “Why do you have to be so perfect?” 

“I’m far from perfect.” He leaned down, kissing her forehead before getting off of her. 

Skylar sat up, sitting cross legged on the bed as she watched him pull on his pants and sit back down. “You are to me. You’re everything I wanted and more Alex.” 

He turned to her, a small smile spread across his face. 

“There were nights, before we got together where I would lay awake, looking up at the ceiling wondering if I would be the right man for you. If I would be able to give you everything you wanted. I spent so many nights tossing and turning over that issue and hearing you say that, means everything to me.” 

“You’re such a hopeless romantic and I love it.” She moved over to the edge of the bed where he was sitting, resting her head on his shoulder. “I never knew that really bothered you. Can you tell me why?” 

Alex glanced over at the clock, sighing. “I’ll tell you in the car, it’s getting late and we need to check out.” 

“Already?” She lifted her head off his shoulder, looking at the clock. “I love spending my time with you but I hate how fast the time actually goes.” She got off the bed to grab her pants that were thrown over the back of the chair by the desk and pulled them on. “I swear if our vacation time flies by, I will probably cry.” 

“We’ll make the best of our two weeks together, kotyonok.” 

“I know.” 

xXx

They were finally back on the road heading back to base. She enjoyed their time in London and couldn’t wait to come back and see Grace again. As much as she couldn’t wait to come back, she was looking forward to going back to base, unloading all the supplies and getting ready for their date tonight. She was excited to see where Alex had picked. 

“So is my wonderful boyfriend going to tell me why he’s worried about not being able to give me everything I would want?” She looked over at him with a raised brow, making him chuckle. “Because I don’t think you should be worried about that, you’ve already given me more than I could have asked for.” 

With a blind eye he grabbed Skylar’s hand, holding it in his. “Kotyonok, there might be something in the future you might want and I might not be able to give it to you.” 

“Okay you’ve been acting weird since we left the warehouse last night, the casual mentions of…..oh my god. Is that what you’re worried about Alex? That you might not be able to give me a child someday? I don’t think that’s something to be worried about right now.” 

“You’re right, it isn’t something I should be worried about right now.” He sighed and tapped his fingers along the steering wheel. “Yesterday when I saw you with Grace and how natural you were with her, it ignited something within me. I thought about the future, our future. What if someday down the line we decide to have a family and it doesn’t work out because of my age.” He glanced over at her , giving her a small smile. “I would give you the world if I could, kotyonok.” 

“I know you would.” She noticed a rest stop coming up in the distance. “Turn into that rest stop please.” He nodded, turning into the rest stop, putting the car in park and turned it off. Turning his attention over to Skylar, she leaned over, crushing their lips together. She pulled away, shaking her head with a smile on her face. “We’re both healthy, I don’t think we’ll have issue in that department and if we do, so what? I’m not going to feel embarrassed because we needed a little help with starting a family.” 

“You wouldn’t?” 

“Of course not. Why do you think I would be embarrassed or mad or anything like that? The whole idea of starting a family is to have a baby, I don’t care how I conceive said baby.” Her eyes widened a little, then she chuckled. “You know baby talk use to freak me out, just the thought of how big of a responsibility it is. Yet here I am, talking about our future child or children and I feel calm. It’s funny what happens when you meet the right person.” 

“That is true, kotyonok.” He chuckled and kissed her forehead. “I never knew I wanted to be a father until I saw you with Grace. A lot of things I didn’t know I wanted until you came into my life.” 

Skylar looked out the window, watching the few people talking in the distance. “I never knew I would meet someone who cares for me as deeply as you do, who would actually want to have a family with me someday. I was conflicted between us in the beginning, I like you, yes. But I was so afraid I would get hurt again. I’m happy now that I took this chance, if I didn’t this would have been my biggest mistake.” 

“The last thing I want to do is to hurt you.” He glanced out the window, looking up at the overcast sky. “I have a surprise for you back at base, that I was going to give you during dinner. Now I think it’s best to give it to you when we get back.” 

“I know and I know you would never hurt me.” She leaned over again, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “And a surprise? Well I’m intrigued and excited, let’s go!” 

xXx

They were finally back at base, unloading all the supplies. Skylar was becoming impatient and wanted to know what the surprise Alex had for her was and the only way she would find out is if they got done, faster. And thankfully they were almost done, just had about 5 more boxes to bring in. 

“Kotyonok, you can head up to our room if you want? I can deal with the rest of the boxes.” 

“You sure?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Okay. I’ll meet you in ‘our’ room.” She smirked at him and chuckled before leaning up to kiss him before she left. 

She grabbed her bag and phone from his car and headed inside. The first order of business would be grab a fresh pair of clothes and her phone charger before going to Alex’s room. She was in desperate need of a shower, a change of clothes and to charge her phone before tonight. 

Opening the door to her room, she noticed Ash wasn’t there. Then again it was late in the morning and who knows what she had to do today. She tossed her bag on the bed, taking out her new shirt to hang up. Grabbing a coat hanger from the closet, she hung the shirt on the top drawer of the dresser. She knew she was going to wear it tonight, why not keep it out. 

Skylar then grabbed a fresh pair of clothes along with her phone and charger and headed for Alex’s room. 

His room was just like they left it the night before. Some clothes on the floor and bed half made. She placed her clothes on his desk, plugging her charger into the outlet by his bed to charge her phone. Kicking off her shoes, she laid down on the bed with a sigh. 

Her mind started to wander over to the conversation they had in the car, about having a family someday. It seemed surreal that he was already thinking about that, only a week into their relationship. What else has he thought about? Or better yet, what was the future he pictures for both of them? She wanted to know, but at the same time she was afraid to ask. 

It wasn’t long until the door open, she propped herself up on her elbows to see Alex shutting the door behind him. He walked over to the bed and laid down beside her with a sigh. 

“That better be the only thing work-wise we need to do for the next 2 or so weeks.” 

“You’re cute when you get all grumpy.” She maneuvered herself so she could see him. “Remind me to go see Doc before we leave, I need to talk to him about something.” 

“Okay. And why does my kotyonok need to see Doc? Is it something I should know about?” 

Skylar scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Just my birth control. I want to see if I can take it early because we won’t be back on base for the next two weeks and I don’t exactly want to be called mom yet.” 

“I do wear condoms Skylar.” He chuckled. “Wait why do you have to see Doc for your birth control? Aren’t you taking a pill?”

“I know that silly.” She lightly shoved at his chest and laughed. “I’m not on the pill, our lifestyle is too chaotic for that. I take the depo shot. It’s quick and simple, one shot every three months. The pill you need to take everyday and if you miss a few days, you’re more susceptible to getting pregnant.” 

“Oh, I didn’t know that. What if you miss a shot?” 

“I can miss it by a week and I’ll be fine, anything longer than that, we might be parents.”

“So you can miss the shot by a week and you’ll be fine, but you have to take the pill everyday because if you don’t you can get pregnant? That doesn't make any sense.” 

“Tell me about it. So….that surprise? Can I see now?” 

Alex laughed and Skylar moved to let him sit up. She waiting patiently and excitedly for whatever his surprise was. Watching him get up to go to his dresser, opening the first drawer, he rummaged through it until he pulled something out and shut the dresser drawer. Walking back to the bed that’s when she noticed the black rectangular case, the kind for a necklace. He sat down and handed it to her. 

Her fingers went over the velvet feel of the case, then slowly opened it. Staring at her was a silver dog tag, with an engraving on it written in purple. She took it out of the case to read it. 

“Kotyonok. I promise to be faithful to you, to cherish you, to commit to you and support you. My heart will be your shelter and my arms will be your home. Ты мой рай, ты моё небо, ты моё солнце.” 

Skylar looked from the dog tag in hand over to Alex, then back at the dog tag. Tears began to well in her eyes and she threw herself into his arms. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. 

“I didn’t believe you that you were this serious about our relationship - I was stupid to think like that. I’m sorry.” She pulled away, wiping the tears from her eyes. “What does the last part say?” 

“I’m very serious about us Skylar, have been since the beginning.” He wiped some of the lingering tears from her eyes with his thumb. “You don’t need to apologize, kotyonok, sometimes actions speak louder than words. The last part says, you are my paradise, my heaven, you are my sun.” 

“I’m at loss for words. I I, you have no idea how much this means to me babe. Actually you probably do. “She chuckled. “I don’t know what I did to deserve someone like you and I thank whatever God that is up there for bringing us together!” 

Alex leaned down, placing a passionate kiss up on her lips. “I knew you had trust issues and as blunt as I am about...everything, I knew my words wouldn’t be enough. With our lifestyle I figured a promise ring wouldn’t be practical, I decided a dog tag would be better and you can wear it everyday.” 

“A dog tag is better fitting for our lifestyle.” She looked it over again, fingers tracing over the engravings. Flipping it over, she noticed more writing on the back. “Alexsandr + Skylar 12-15-2017 - Forever.” She looked back up at him, eyes glistening once again. “Forever?” 

Her heart began beating at a rapid pace, so much so her hands began to shake. None of this felt real, it all felt like a dream, a dream she never wanted to wake up from. She spent so many years thinking marriage and a family would be out of reach, who would want to be married to a woman with trust issues? Or survivors guilt? But Alex, he was patient, showing her time and time again he was in it for the long haul. She never believed it, thinking it was only a matter of time before he got sick of her or found someone better. Like every other relationship she had, casual or not. 

Now looking down at his promise, engraved in a silver dog tag, for both see, she finally believed him. 

“Forever! You’re the first face I see every morning and the last I see when I go to bed, I wake up every morning the happiest man alive knowing that I have you by my side.” He locked eyes with her and took a deep breath. “Whether this happens a year or five from now, I hope one day you’ll become Mrs. Senaviev.” 

“Skylar Senaviev does have a nice ring to it.” She wiped the tears from her eyes once again and smiled. “Now I’m curious, what does our future look like to you?” 

He took the dog tag from her hand, motioning for her to turn around. She obliged and maneuvered herself to sit in front of him with her back turned. He undid the small chain, bringing the dog tag in front of her and clipped it shut around her neck. She brought her hand up to feel it again, then moved beside him and snuggled up against his chest. 

“I picture us moving in together, where I would spend every morning cooking breakfast for you. You’d protest you’re perfectly capable making it yourself, but I’d ignore it and keep doing it. We’d spend the day together doing whatever errands we have to do, or we spend it at home cleaning our guns and watching movies all day on the couch. We would cook dinner together every night, talking about anything and everything that came to mind. And every night when we’d go to bed, I’d make love to you, you’d fall asleep in my arms afterwards where I would look down at your sleeping figure thinking how lucky I was to call you my wife.” 

Skylar pushed herself up, face softening under his gaze. “That, that sounds perfect and very romantic. You’ve really thought about the future, and I hope it comes true.” 

“I do too! What does yours look like, kotyonok?” 

She sat up, cross legged. Her hand came up to play with the new dog tag that laid next to her work ones on her chest. “I never really thought about it, until now at least. I just want a…...simple kind of life - well as simple as it can be for our lifestyle. I just love the thought of waking up and falling asleep next to you everyday, taking long walks hand in hand around the city, when your polishing one of your Degtyaryov I could be reading a book or drawing a new picture next to you, just happy to spend some quality time together.” Her eyes averted to the small section of blanket that was in between them - smiling to herself. Then she looked back up to Alex. “But the one thing I’m looking forward too the most, is the day where you come home from a mission or a day of training with Glaz, Kapkan and Fuze and as soon as you walk through the door you’re being greeted by our child. Little feet pitter patting on the wooden floor, arms spread wide and a big smile on their face because they’re so excited to see their papa.” 

Alex sat up, mouth slightly gaping. He wasn’t exactly sure what she would say, and was mostly expecting that she didn’t think about the future. Which would have been perfectly fine, he couldn’t blame her for not wanting to think about the uncertainty of the future. But he never expected to here she pictured their child, or that she actually wanted a family. Yes she mentioned it on the car ride home, her tone however was iffy. 

“Kotyonok, I never realized you’d thought about things like that. Truthfully I wasn’t sure if you wanted kids or not.” He smiled over at her, and she mirrored it. “That sounds like the perfect way to come home after a long day of work. To my wife and child!” 

“I do, more so than I like to let on.” She chuckled, then let out a sigh. “When I was a little girl, I always thought, I wanna get married and be a mom. It sounds so cliche now. Then the older I got and all the stuff I went through made the want of it die down, or at least I thought. There was a time where I didn’t care when I got pregnant, now I want to be emotionally ready to have a child.” She gave him a small smile that he mirrored. “It feels nice to talk about this, our future.” 

“It makes sense why you would hide the fact you want a family, military life isn’t kind.” He leaned over, placing a quick kiss upon her lips. “It does feel nice to talk about the future. The future I’m excited to have. However, kotyonok, I am more than willing to take this slow.” 

“Good because we are.” They both laughed, then sighed. “I think it’ll be more worth it if we do take things slow. Just enjoy it being us before we add little Senaviev into the family.”

“I agree, kotyonok! If I feel this happy waiting only 5 months for you, I wonder how happy I’ll be when you’re my wife and we’re welcoming our child into this world years from now.” 

Alex smiled, grabbing Skylar’s hand and gently pulled her into a hug. She sighed in content, resting her head on his chest. Both of them content on where they were. However Skylar could tell something had shifted between them, she felt closer to him than before, like she no longer needed to hide behind a facade. Because deep down they both knew that one day they would be a family.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I’ve decided there will be 10 more chapters (after this one, or might be less) before the outbreak finally hits, because once the outbreak hits things will go from happy to traumatic real fast and I just want Skylar and Tachanka to be happy a little bit longer.

Later that evening Skylar headed back to her room to get ready, when she opened the door she saw Ash was sitting on her bed and a sigh of relief left her. “Oh thank god you’re here. I have some crazy stuff to tell you.” 

Ash smirked and sat up, sitting cross legged as Skylar walked over to her and sat down in front of her. “I’m intrigued, what has your boyfriend done now?” 

“First off he’s meeting my parents in a few days.” She undid the dog tag and handed it to Ash. “And then this happened.” 

She took the dog tag from her hand and read it. Skylar watched her in anticipation, waiting to see what she had to say. A moment later she looked up, handing the dog tag back to her. 

“I’ve never seen Tachanka like this and now that I think of it, his flirting stopped when you two started talking. Not dating, talking. He’s been courting you since the beginning Skylar. How do you feel about this?” 

Skylar sighed as she put the dog tag back on around her neck. “I’m happy because I thought no one would like me that much, but it’s also kinda scary in a sense. A lot can happen between now and a year and what if we break up or one of us dies? I don’t want to get my hopes up that one day we might be married and have it go up in flames.” 

“Have you told him that?” 

“Yeah, we’re still taking it slow.” 

Ash nodded. “Now a more personal question, do you want to marry him?” 

She shook her head and laughed, but she couldn’t hide the smile on her face, no matter how hard she tried. “Yeah, actually I do. He makes me feel happy, safe, I don’t have to question our relationship….I mean I still do, but that’s another topic of discussion. I can picture a life with him, that’s never happened before.” 

“Then I think you should marry him. He’s good for you Skylar and he’s clearly head over heels in love with you.” 

Skylar hooked the dog tag around her neck, letting it fall against her chest. “You really think so?”

Ash rested her hand on top of hers - locking eyes. “I know so! This lifestyle is stressful and we have a 50/50 chance on coming back every time we have a mission. Alex looks at you like you’re the only women on the planet, he loves you and I know you love him. It’s a no brainer Sky.” 

She removed her hand from hers and Skylar took a deep breath and nodded. “I do love him and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. And you’re right, this job is stressful, it’ll be nice to come home from a mission or training to him and vice versa. To eventually start a family. Maybe taking it fast isn’t such a bad thing after all.” 

“No, no it’s not.” Skylar got up and headed for her dresser. “Just hold off on the baby making part for now, I don’t think the world is ready for any small Senaviev’s just yet.” 

She turned to her pouting her lip. “Awe well that ruins the fun.” 

“Pfft, just get ready for your date you lovesick puppy.” 

xXx

Skylar draped her coat over her arm as she walked back to Alex’s room. She was looking forward to seeing what semi-formal wear he was wearing, wondering if it will be exactly like in her mind or different. 

She came to his room, rapping her fist against the wooden door a few times. While she waited for him to answer, she doubled checked her purse for everything she would need. Wallet, keys, her phone and a few miscellaneous things she keeps in there for emergencies. 

The door opened, making her look up. As soon as she laid eyes on him her mouth slightly fell agape, it was exactly how she pictured him. Black form fitting slacks with a white button down shirt neatly tucked into them. He even had the first few buttons near the collar undone. 

She leaned up, placing a firm kiss upon his lips. “Wow, you look so handsome!” 

He smiled down at her, pulling her into his room. She set her coat and purse down on the bed, then turned to him with a smile on her face that quickly softened when she saw the look on his face. 

“Kotyonok, you look absolutely beautiful!” 

“I do?” 

He looked her up and down, she paired the white blouse she just got with a high-waisted black skirt, both showing of her shape. 

“Would I lie to you?” 

“No, no you wouldn’t.” 

He walked over to her, holding both of her hands in his - noticing she still had the dog tag on. “You’re still wearing it.” 

“Of course, I’m never taking it off. Well maybe for missions because I don’t want it to get dirty or covered in blood.” She leaned up and kissed him again, both humming into it. “Other than that, it’s never leaving my neck.”

“That’s good, it looks good on you anyways.” 

He let go of one of her hands, pulling her to the bed. She sat down with a content sigh, resting her hand on his thigh. Skylar never thought she would be this happy, or that all it took was for her to join Rainbow to find the perfect man for her. Who surprisingly wants her just a much. 

“Thanks.” She chuckled. “Do you ever think about living off base?” 

She looked up at him, seeing that cheesy look on his face that made her roll her eyes. Every time she tried to be nonchalant about something, he saw right through her. 

“I didn’t think you would want to take such a big step so soon, kotyonok.” He placed his hand on top of hers and gave it a small squeeze. “Are you sure about this?” 

“Yes and no! Yes because I do miss having my own place and no, because I don’t want to do all the cooking and cleaning and such that comes with living in your own place.”

“And who says you’ll be doing all the cooking and cleaning? You’re my girlfriend, kotyonok not my maid. It’ll be split evenly between us, when we do move in together.” 

She gave him a small smile then stood up, walking over to his degtyaryov. She traced her fingers along the butt of the gun. “Should we get a two bedroom, one for us and one for your beloved degtyaryov?” 

Alex let out a booming laugh and stood up. Walking in front of her, he stopped on the other side of his gun, looking down at her with a smirk on his face. “No, the degtyaryov can stay here in my locker. The second bedroom will be needed for something much more important.” 

Skylar blinked her eyes a few times, contemplating what he had just said. Ever since she came to Rainbow she saw how he treated this gun, like his pride and joy. Everyone in Rainbow kept really good care of their weapons, but Alex took it to a whole other level, hell no one besides him was aloud to touch it. So hearing him say he would put his beloved degtyaryov in his locker instead of their own home was a shock to say the least. 

“You would really put this gun in your locker? Alex that second room isn’t going to be occupied for a while, it can home your degtyaryov until then.”

He looked down at his gun and sighed through his nose. Thinking back on all the blood, sweat, tears and money he had spent on this gun. How every Sunday he would polish it and make sure it was working perfectly. Back then, it was his pride and joy, and it still is in a sense. But a gun is materialistic, anything that happens to it, he can replace. Skylar, is not. She’s a human being, and they can’t be replaced. 

“There was a time where this gun was the best thing in my life. I even treated it like it was my first born child.” He chuckled and locked eyes with her. “Maybe it still is in a way and I wouldn’t have batted an eye at the thought of having a room for it. When we do move into a place together, I don’t want that extra room to go to this gun, I want it to go to something different.” 

“Honestly, we don’t need two bedrooms, at least not now.” 

“That’s true.” He leaned over his degtyaryov and kissed her forehead. “We should head out or we’ll be late for our reservation.” 

“Right, don’t want to be late for that.”

He laughed once more as Skylar went to put her coat on. 

xXx

When they pulled up to the Castle House Skylar nearly slapped him. “The Castle House? Really? You picked the most expensive place in all of Hereford for our first date?” 

“I did! I think it would be nice to have an actual nice dinner instead of what we get at the base. And it was an excuse to see you all dressed up.” 

Alex pulled into a parking space and shut off the car. She couldn’t help but smile to herself, even though she hated him spending so much money on her. And she should have known it was going to be at the Castle House once he said semi-formal wear. 

“Clever. And we’re splitting the bill this time, no ifs and's or buts about it Alexsandr.” 

“Uhm, kotyonok….” 

“Sometimes I don’t know if you’re just old fashioned or that you have more money saved up then you would like and you don’t know what to do with it. So you spend it on me.”  
“Both?” 

Skylar laughed and kissed him. “I liked that you’re old fashioned, you don’t see that much anymore these days.” She sighed and looked over at the building. The House Castle, one of Herefords more pricey restaurants. “I know you’re not going to listen to me if I tell you to stop spending your money on me, so I’ll say this. Please don’t spend this much money on me, you don’t need to woo me with expensive things Alex. I’m happy enough to just spend the day with you doing nothing.” 

Alex grabbed her hand, making her turn towards him. “I know you are and I am too, it’s….I never got the chance to spoil anyone before, and I want to spoil you!” 

She gazed into his eyes, giving him a small smile. As a kid she wasn’t spoiled, the only times either her or her sisters’ were spoiled were during their birthdays and holidays. And a part of her wanted to have him spoil her rotten, the other still wanted to be humble and not have him spend money on her. It was a vicious circle. 

“Alright fine, just don’t over do it please? Our money is gonna be needed for more important things in the future you know.” 

A big grin spread across his face, pure joy contorting his features. It made it hard for Skylar to not mirror it. 

Decades, it took decades for him to find the one person he wanted to spoil. Actually it took him decades to find the one person he wanted to spend his life with, to start a family with. Fancy dinners and customizable jewelry was just the beginning, Alex had more ideas up his sleeve and he’s sure to get them all out eventually. 

“What other important things is our money going towards, kotyonok?” 

“Uhm, mortgage, cars, our future children. Family vacations. That sort of stuff.” She chuckled then glanced over to the building. “We should head in or your kotyonok is gonna become a Popsicle.” 

“Дрисня, yeah let’s head in or I might need to warm up my kotyonok beforehand.” 

He smirked, making her shake her head as she got out of his car. Upon getting out she heard his all too familiar laugh that made her smile. 

They made it inside and we seated at their table, or rather booth. Both of them sliding into the same one, to stay close to one another. 

Skylar took off her jacket, setting it to her side and took his. The place looked gorgeous and had a nice atmosphere to boot, it made their first date even more amazing. The waiter came over with their menus and took their drink order. To her surprise Alex ordered a bottle of wine, how romantic. After the waiter left, she turned to him. 

“Wine? I didn’t take you for a wine drinker babe.” 

He set the menu down and turned to her. “I’m not, I just thought it would be more romantic.” 

“So you bought a bottle of expensive wine to be romantic?” She chuckled. “You’re lucky you’re cute and I like you more than words can express. But it is romantic.” 

“You’re cuter!” He chuckled and looked down at the menu. “What is my beautiful kotyonok going to get?” 

“I am going to get the ‘Crisp Gnocchi’. What is my handsome looking man going to get?” 

He turned back to the menu, scanning it thoroughly. The fancy wording of the menu made the food sound not that appetizing to him and it made it hard to choose. Or maybe he was just use to simpler meals. 

“I’m gonna get the ‘Fresh Range Chicken Breast’, don’t want to overdo it tonight. Can’t make love to you if I’m in a food coma.” 

Skylar shook her head and laughed. “I’m sure whatever pain you’re in, the will to make love to me will win. Also are you allergic to nuts by any chance?” 

“No, why?” 

“We should share the ‘Honey & Walnut Cake’ for dessert. It sounds delicious.” 

“Sharing dessert? That’s romantic too kotyonok.” 

The waiter came back with their wine and took their orders, then left to give it to the chef. 

Alex grabbed the bottle of wine, easily opening it and grabbed two glasses. Pouring each of them a glass, he handed Skylar the first as he set the bottle on the table. She swished the liquid in the cup and took a sip. 

“Not bad.” She set the cup down on the table. “Now is my wonderful kind hearted boyfriend going to tell me about himself?” 

He set his cup on the table as well and turned to her. “What would you like to know?

“Anything and everything!” 

He nodded - thinking back on past years. He has so much he wanted to tell her but didn’t know where to start. Should he just start from the beginning or at random? There was so much to choose from. 

“When I was still a boy I used to get envious at the other kids for always spending time with their papa’s. It got so bad I ended up hitting some poor kid, and I was 7. Being born into a military family has its pros and cons, the big con is not being able to see the person in the military for long periods of time.” 

She rested her hand on his, giving him a small smile. “Did you have a good relationship with him?” 

“For the most part, yes. I joined because of him, he was even the one to introduce me to the degtyaryov. He was also strict, and I didn't have much growing up, he didn't like materialistic things.” 

“That explains why you want to spoil me. And why you put so much effort into enjoying life.” She leaned over, giving him a quick kiss. “What about your mom? What was she like?” 

She watched his face light up again, thinking he must have been a lot closer to his mom than his dad. 

“My mom was amazing! She was a nurse for the Red Army, that’s where she met my pa. She worked up until she got pregnant with me, the retired to be a stay-at-home mom. Though she never did fully retire, she did help from time to time. She was kind, loving and pushed me to do the best.” His happiness quickly faded and he sighed. “I wish she was still alive, she would have loved you!” 

“And I her.” She brought him in for a hug and kissed his temple. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder - this was where he felt the happiest, in the arms of the woman he loved. Skylar made him feel at ease, at peace and beyond happy. 

Skylar pulled back and smiled at him. “The one thing I hate about being born so much later than my sisters’ is that I’ll never get to spend as much time with my parents as they have. Hopefully none of our children have to go through that.” 

“I hope not either.” He looked around the room, seeing other couples and friends having dinner and talking. “I use to dream about this, taking you out on a fancy date, seeing you all dressed up looking beautiful. The real thing is much better!” 

She could feel her cheeks slightly burn, no doubt turning red. “You use to dream about me?” 

“Almost every night. Now I don’t need to dream about you, I have you!” 

“I had a dream about you a month or so ago. It was really random, but sweet.” 

His eyes lit up and he rested his elbow on the table, looking at her with curiosity. “You have? What was it about kotyonok?” 

“We were on a mission with a few others, and for some reason you thought I died.” She chuckled. “When I came out you were so relieved and happy that you started acting like a bumbling idiot. Then you kissed me and I woke up.” 

“That’s a strange dream.” 

“Tell me about it.” She chuckled. 

There food arrived seconds later, both looking absolutely delicious. During dinner she got him to open up about himself more. How he utilizes the international collector’s market for replacements or will mill his own components when parts can’t be located or are not cost-effective to acquire. His favorite color is green and he was transferred over to the Spetsnaz when he was deployed in Afghanistan before the collapse of the Soviet Union. 

When dessert finally came around Skylar’s mouth was watering. That cake looked incredible or maybe it was due to the fact she hasn’t had chocolate in weeks. 

Alex grabbed a fork, as did she. She took the first bite and moaned, it was way better than she expected. The cake was moist, the frosting was thick but not too much and you could taste the honey and walnuts. 

“You look like you’re about to have an orgasm kotyonok.” 

She didn’t say anything but got another piece and offered it to him. He took the bite from his fork and his eyes widened for a brief second. 

“Oh that’s really good.” 

“Yeah! The best cake I have ever had.” She took another bite, wishing there was more than just the slice they got to share. “I love when cakes are moist like this and not dry.” 

“There’s a Russian dessert I want to make for you when we’re on vacation. I think you’ll like it.” 

“I can’t wait! For any Russian dish you make me.” 

She leaned over and kissed him before going back to the cake. The rest of the night they talked more about random things until they decided to head back to base. On the way back to his car, she locked arms with him, trying to keep warm from the cold wind. 

Alex quickly unlocked his car and Skylar hopped in, waiting for him to turn the heat on. 

“We should do this more often, date nights!” 

“I think so too, kotyonok. Maybe a new place every week, until we find the places we like best?” 

“That sounds perfect!” 

xXx

As soon as they entered the base, Skylar took off her heels and walked barefoot back to his room. Not wanting to wake anyone up, it was already late as it was.

Once they got to his room, she shrugged off her coat and held it in her hands while she waited for him to unlock it. When he did, he motioned for her to go in first. She obliged with a smile, walking in and placing her coat on his chair and her purse on his desk. Then turned to him. 

He shut the door behind him and locked it, walking over to her and picked her up. Her legs wrapped around his waist, hiking her skirt up even more. He kissed down her neck as he made his way to the armchair in his room and sat down. 

“Did the kotyonok have a nice time?” 

She ran a hand down his chest, stopping the waistband of his pants. “I always have a good time with you! It doesn’t matter what we do, just being with you makes me happy and I’m really glad we get two weeks all too ourselves.” 

He leaned forward, crushing their lips together. Hours of hardly any contact was driving him crazy, and he wanted nothing more than to strip her of her clothes and make love to her on the bed. Like every night before. But there was also a slight guilt in the pit of his stomach, was she alright with all the sex they were having? 

He pulled back, moving some hair behind her ear. “That’s what I want to do, kotyonok. Spend every waking minute with you - forget about work and other priorities. I just want you!” 

“And you have me, you always will!” She laughed and kissed him again. “I can’t express how much you mean to me, we’ve been together for a week and it seems like years.” She looked down at his waistband and sighed. “I thought I wanted to take this slow, but I was wrong. I don’t want to take this slow. I want to move in together, to get married, to have kids, our job is stressful and every time we have a mission there’s a chance we won’t come back. I don’t want to look back and wish I did some things differently.” 

Alex was stunned with what she just said, as he has for a lot of things. Skylar was still a mystery to him, a mystery he would love to unravel for years to come. 

“Kotyonok, are you sure? You really want to go through with this? All of it?” 

She nodded her head, eyes glistening over. “I am, well the moving in part. Marriage we should wait a little bit, because I do want you to have a good relationship with my family before that big step. And kids I don’t fully know about that one yet.” 

He crushed their lips together once again, this time deepening it. Her hand came up, cupping his cheek, caressing his freshly shaved skin. He pulled back, giving her a bunch of smaller kisses around her face that made her giggle like a schoolgirl. 

“So we’re doing this? We’re really moving in together?” 

She shook her head and kissed him again. “Yes! I think after the new year we should start looking for an apartment.” 

“What made you change your mind?” 

“Ash. After I showed her the dog tag she said she never saw you like this before and that if you look at me like I’m the only woman on the planet than you must care about me very deeply. So she said fuck taking it slow. And she’s right.” 

Alex grabbed her waist and stood up, walking over to the bed and laid her gently down on it. He moved the strands of hair out of her face and kissed her deeply. 

“I care about you so much that it hurts, if anything happened to you I would never forgive myself. I won’t let anything happen to you, ever. And I can’t wait to start this new life with my beautiful kotyonok.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Russian Translations: 
> 
> Kotyonok = Kitten  
> Moi Sladkiy = My Sweetness  
> Zhena - Wife  
> Krasotka = Gorgeous

Sunday finally rolled around and tomorrow would be the day they finally left for a much needed vacation. 5 months of almost non stop missions were tasking, and both Skylar and Alex were looking forward to relaxing for the next few weeks. And both of them were praying they don’t get called for a mission.

Skylar was walking back to his room with her bag in hand. She didn’t have much to pack considering they wear their different uniforms for 90 percent of the year. However the clothes she did bring with her she wanted to swap with new ones from home and maybe bring over some other accessories as well.

She opened his door and walked in, setting her bag by his desk. “I got off the phone with my mom and she said when we get in tomorrow night to just take it easy and we can go over to their place for brunch in the morning. She also said there will be a surprise waiting for us at my place.”

She sat down on the bed while Alex packed his things, he seemed to be having more trouble than she was.

“A surprise? What do you think it is?”

“Hopefully her homemade cookies, because I miss them.” She looked over at his bag, seeing the all too familiar black box. “I see you already packed the condoms.”

“Those are essentials, kotyonok.” He pushed the bag aside, sitting down next to her. “Why don’t you make them while you’re here?”

“I could but I’m lazy.” She leaned over him, grabbing the box of condoms. “I only had one other boyfriend, minus you that took protection seriously. But you take the cake.”

She handed him the box and he put it back. He looked down at her, watching her fiddle with her hands in her lap. The more she opens up about past boyfriends or lovers, he found himself getting angry. How could anyone hurt or take advantage of someone like Skylar? Someone who is so full of love! He just didn’t get it.

“How could anyone do that to you? Hurt you, take advantage of you. You didn’t deserve that kotyonok, not one bit.”

“I don’t like confrontation and I give in. It was stupid, I was stupid.” She looked over at him with a small smile gracing her face. “I’m glad I don’t need to worry about all that stuff now. You’re the most caring boyfriend ever and I’m happy your mine.”

He moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around her in a firm hug. “You will never have to worry about such things anymore, kotyonok. Never!” With a strong arm he picked her up, having her straddle him as he maneuvered them both farther up the bed. “And you know I’m happy your mine.”

“I do know that!” She leaned down and kissed him. “I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

“Me too! Two weeks, just the two of us. I have a lot planned for us when we get to Russia, kotyonok.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, moving closer to him. “I’m really looking forward to that! Seeing Russia for the first time with the most amazing boyfriend ever.”

Russia was on her bucket list of countries to see. She always wanted to go, just never had the chance or someone to go with her. Until now that is.

“I can’t wait to show you around, take you to all my favorite places! Make new memories with my future zhena in a place that no longer feels like home.”

Skylar’s face soften, her hand resting on his chest. “You don’t consider Saint Petersburg home?”

“Not since my mama died. She was the only reason I went back there.” Sadness started to convey in his blue eyes and Skylar embraced him in a hug. “It’s okay, kotyonok, you’ve given me purpose to go back.”

She pulled back, gazing into his eyes. “If you’re not fully ready to go back, that’s okay. They’ll be many more opportunities.”

“No, it’s time I go back, besides I have my kotyonok with me!”

“You’ll always have me!” She trailed her finger down his chest and sighed. “I’m actually kind of nervous to see my family.”

Alex gently grabbed her hand, kissing her fingertips. “Why do you feel that way?”

  
She shrugged her shoulders and glance up at him. “I don’t know, I always feel this way before I see them, it’s weird.”

“It’s not weird kotyonok. Everyone feels a little nervous when they haven’t seen someone in a long time.”

“Yeah you’re right about that.” She bit her bottom lip, drumming her fingers on the small bulge of his pants. “Are you ever going to let me be on top? Or am I just going to have to deal with the missionary position for the rest of our relationship?”

“Does the kotyonok want to be on top?”

He grabbed her hand, guiding it more towards the slowly growing bulge of his pants. She smirked and started to stroke him.

“I do, very much so!” She removed her hand from his growing arousal, pushing up the black tank he had on to unbutton his gorka pants, pulling down the zipper to free his cock from their restraints. “And I also want to try something else.”

She got off him, toeing off her shoes before pulling her pants, along with her panties down. Alex watched her get back on the bed, licking his lips as she straddled him again.

“What was the other thing you wanted to try?” He leaned forward until he was mere inches from her face, making her heart beat faster than before. “I’m always in the mood to pleasure my kotyonok!”

Skylar giggled than crushed their lips together, hearing a soft moan in the back of his throat. She pulled away - gazing into his eyes.

“It’s more of me pleasuring you. I just needed to figure out if you could fit in my mouth or not.”

She watched as his eyes turned black with lust, a smile spreading across his face. Grabbing his shaft she began stroking him again, never leaving eye contact.

“I didn’t think you would be into something like that, such a dirty kotyonok.”

She let go of his cock and got off the bed, grabbing his bag and placing it on the ground, then took off her shirt, standing bare in front of him. He quickly realized what she wanted and slid down to the edge, untying his boots as fast as possible and took of his gorka pants along with his boxer and tank top. He laid back down on his back, fixing the pillows behind him and watched as she straddled him once again, this time hovering over his erect member.

“Only for you moi sladkiy!” She slid down onto his member until he bottom out, leaning her head back trying to cover the slight pain on her face. “Oh god I’ve never had you this deep before, you’re feel a lot bigger this way.”

Both hands grabbed her thighs, rubbing up and down them in a comforting manner. She looked down at him, a small apologetic smile on her face. “Move when you are ready kotyonok, there’s no rush.”

Skylar nodded her head and let out a sharp breath. She was starting to think she bit off more than she could chew by trying to ride him. Alex watched her carefully, keeping still and patient as she got used to his full size and width, but the pain never left her face.

He moved his hand to the small of her back, flipping their positions. He gently laid her down and pulled out, watching her slightly wince as he did. “You did very good kotyonok! Don’t be upset about what happened, you did very well!”

She turned and looked up at him. “I thought I could do it, I guess I need more practice.”

“You don’t need more practice, your body isn’t used to taking my fullness that’s all.” He leaned down and kissed her, then pulled away to gaze into her hazel eyes. “Do you still want to do it?”

“Yes, just please go slow.”

“Of course kotyonok, I would never hurt you!”

She watched him go into the top drawer of his nightstand and pull out a bottle of lube. He flipped opened the top and poured some onto his cock, then used his hand to slick himself up. Setting the bottle down, he moved his cock head to her opening, and with a slow snap of his hips entered her.

Skylar moaned, wrapping her arms around his neck. He kept his pace slow and sensual, never leaving her gaze. She leaned up a bit, placing soft kisses along his jawline until she came to his ear. “Don’t pull out.”

He nudge her leg up a little farther, quickening his pace. She slid her hands down his arms, grabbing onto his biceps. The mattress creak and the bed frame hit the wall, though neither cared about who could hear them, only enamored in each other.

Alex bent his head down, nipping and kissing down the scar on her neck. He pulled away, gazing down into her eyes. And with a single snap of his hips, they both came with moan.

He moved some gelled on hair from her cheek behind her ear as his cock throbbed inside her. Having unprotected sex was never his thing, but with Skylar it felt….natural. It would also be something he needed to get used to anyways, you can’t have kids if you’re using a condom.

When Skylar’s shaking ceased he pulled out, collapsing onto the bed beside her. On instinct she snuggled up next to him, resting her head on his chest. She sighed in content, tracing her finger along one of the scars he harbors.

“I know you care about me and my well-being, I just never thought it went as far as when we have sex.” She looked up at him, meeting his gaze. “You knew I wouldn’t be able to take you like that, didn’t you?”

“Kotyonok, you are so much smaller than me and the last thing I would want is to hurt you during a time that is supposed to bring you pleasure.” He kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer. “Don’t say things like that, you’ll be riding me like a pro in no time!”

“Well I was hoping that would be today.” She chuckled. “Someday though.”

“That’s my kotyonok! Now is she going to tell me how she knew what ‘moi sladkiy’ means?”

He looked down at her with a raised brow, making her laugh. She sat up a little, not before giving him a tame kiss.

“I googled it. I wanted to have a cute pet name for you since you always call me kotyonok and I liked it. My sweetness, it’s very fitting for you.”

Alex smiled over at her, placing a hand on her cheek and caressing her smooth skin. He never had anyone call him by a pet name before, it was always Alex or Alexsandr. Then again, he never got close enough to anyone for that to happen. The way Skylar spoke it, made his heart flutter. He could definitely get used to being called that, only if it came from her.

“Moi sladkiy, I can get used to that! I must say I am very impressed on how authentic you sounded, like a true Russian!”

She moved to sit up, bringing her knees up a little and leaning against her thighs - cheeks tinting red. “I did? Half the time I feel like I’m butchering the language.”

“Nonsense.” He sat up, playing with a strand of her chestnut hair. “You’ll be fluent in no time my krasotka kotyonok!”

“Oh you’re too kind.” She rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Doesn’t krasotka mean gorgeous?”

“It does mean gorgeous.” He pulled the blanket from underneath them, covering them both. “Is someone who is not me teaching you Russian?”

Skylar laughed and kissed him. “No. When I can’t sleep at night I just find websites for learning Russian, if they’re accurate or not I’m not sure.”

“You’re not sleeping well?” Concern covered his features as he stared down at her. Skylar averting her eyes anywhere but his gaze. “Kotyonok I wish you would’ve told me this. We can go see Doc and see if he has anything to help you sleep?”

“I’m okay, it’s nothing I just have a hard time sleeping sometimes, that’s all.”

Skylar hoped he would leave it at that and not question it more, but deep down she knew he would. It wouldn’t be in his fashion to leave things, especially if it had to do with her well-being. There were just some things she wasn’t ready to open up about just yet.

“Skylar, please tell me what’s wrong.”

“When it gets near the anniversary of when I lost my squad I get overwhelmed with survivors guilt and some mild nightmares. That’s all.”

He wrapped her in his arms and kissed the top of her head. “I wish you would have told me. You know I don’t care if you wake me up in the middle of the night, I just want to know if you’re alright.”

Skylar looked up at him, a small apologetic smile graced her face. She leaned up, placing a chaste kiss upon his lips and snuggled into his chest.

“I didn’t want to be a burden.”

“KOTYONOK!” The sound of his booming voice startled Skylar so much she flinched away from him. An immense sense of guilt filled him when he saw the slight fear in her eyes. “I’m so sorry kotyonok, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He slowly reached out for her, wondering if she would even let him touch her. A relieved sigh left him when she moved closer to him. “You are not burden Skylar and never will be. It upsets me you even think that way about yourself.”

“It’s okay, just please don’t do that again.” She looked up at him through hooded eyes. “I don’t like bothering people with my problems. They don’t know how to deal with it.”

Alex placed his fingers below her chin, gently moving her head up to meet his gaze.

“Civilians will never understand the horrors we face or do in our line of work, I do! I know what it’s like to be riddled with nightmares, the guilt. Kotyonok, I have spent over three decades in the military, I know what it’s like to stay up night after night because nightmares consume you and I will never hesitate on staying up the night with you when you have one.”

“You would really do that for me?”

“I would go as far as to lay my life down for you, kotyonok!” He gently grabbed her hand, holding it in his. “You mean the world to me and I will never abandon you. Even if you try to push me away, I will never leave your side.”

Skylar flung her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulders as the tears welled in her eyes. Alex smiled to himself as he wrapped his arms around her small frame, rubbing gently up and down her bare back.

“Thank you, for always being there for me. For caring!”

As he held her in his arms, the more he wanted to say those three simple words. Because they were true, he does love her, more than anything in the world. Skylar came into his life and claimed his heart and soul. He ached for her. Alex was completely and utterly in love with her! And there was no turning back.

“What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t care so deeply for my girlfriend?”

“A pretty crappy one.” She chuckled, then pulled away to look at him. “I...are we going to tell my parents the truth on how we came to be or make something up? I just want to change the subject please.”

“I think it would be best to tell them the truth, don’t you?”

“You’re right we should, it’s just….it was during the holiday party where we drank then fooled around in the snow, we kissed and ended up having some really good sex. I woke up and sorta freaked than avoided you for two days.” They both laughed and Skylar could feel her cheeks start to warm up. “Which is actually a very hard thing to do.”

“I’m sorry I did that.”

He kissed her forehead, lingering there for a moment. “It’s okay, I know why you did it and I can’t blame you for that. I was going to ask you out in the morning though, when I woke up you weren't there.”

“Yeah, that was stupid of me. At least everything turned out for the better and I ended up being with the man of my dreams.”

“It did!” He leaned down and placed a passionate kiss upon her lips. “And I ended up with the women of my dreams!”

xXx

Skylar was resting her head on Alex’s arm as she skimmed through a magazine. They still had around four hours left until they landed in Maine and she was already bored out of her mind.

Alex was looking through the pictures on her phone, she didn’t mind and offered it anyways. In complete silence he scrolled through her photos, smiling at the ones of them they took together, reminiscing on that day. He chuckled when he came to the picture of her and Ash. How similar their FBI uniforms were, except Skylar wore purple boots instead of red. He thought it was cute.

He swiped through more of her photos, coming to the ones of her and her family. That’s when he noticed she looked like a perfect mix of her parents.

“Kotyonok, you look like both your parents. And are you ever going to tell me about them?”

Skylar laughed and sat up. “My dad’s name is Carl, he owns the family brewery. And my mom is Sarah, she was a freelance writer but she became a stay at home mom when she got pregnant with me. Didn’t want to miss anything since I’m the ‘miracle’ baby.”

He nodded his head and handed her her phone back. “What about your sisters’?”

She slid the phone back in her pocket, turning her body towards him. “Valary is a divorce lawyer, her husband Evan is construction worker. Which is a big help when you need something done and don’t want to call a professional. Chloe works the finances of the brewery and her fiance Jackson is an editor at some journalist place.”

“How do you think they’ll take to you being with an older man?”

She heard the uncertainty in his voice, the fear of being rejected by the family. It made her feel kind of bad he felt that way. Trying to prove yourself to a family isn’t an easy feat, but Skylar knows her family and she knows they’ll accept him with open arms.

“Evan will automatically love you because he’ll now have another manly man to drink with. Chloe will be fine, she honestly doesn’t give a crap who I date, she’s too busy with her life. Jackson will be intimated by you at first than warm up to you. It’s Valary I’m worried about.”

“Overprotective?”

“Yeah. But my parents will love you so that’s all I care about.” She leaned over and gave him a chaste kiss. “Don’t worry, everyone will come to love you!”

“Okay kotyonok.”

“You’re cute when you get all worried.” She laughed and gave him a quick kiss. “Are you nervous though? Truthfully.”

“As nervous as I was when I was placed in my first battle.”

Skylar cupped his cheek, caressing the stubble on his jaw. “There is no need to be nervous moi sladkiy! Everything is going to work out fine, trust me.”

“I trust you, you know I do.” He grabbed her hand, pulling it away from his face and kissed her palm. “I’m just afraid of losing you.”

“You’re not going to lose me! My family is going to love you and no other man is gonna grab my attention. You and only you make me happy.” She leaned over and placed a firm kiss on his lips. “I can’t picture my life without you, and I don’t want too!”

Alex cupped her face in his hands, leaning over the armrest, placing a bunch of kisses onto her lips. She could barely contain the giggles that escaped her. Getting to know him on a more intimate scale was life changing to say the least. Who knew the blunt Lord Tachanka was a hopeless romantic at heart?

Meeting him changed her life for the better. She’s much happier than before and was slowly becoming at peace with past experiences. Skylar never knew she could love someone as much as she loved Alex and truthfully, that scared her. But she trusts him with her heart and soul and she believes him that he’ll never hurt her.

“I don’t want to picture my life without you either! You’ve made me a better and happier man, kotyonok. I will never take that for granted, I will never take you for granted!”

“I think you’ve told me that before!” She chuckled. “I’ll never take you for granted either!”

He leaned over again and kissed her forehead before wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. “Kotyonok, are you going to show your parents the dog tag I got you?”

“I want too, but I don’t think I will. At least not until they ask to see the new dog tag I’m wearing.” She moved her head and looked up at him through hooded eyes. “I don’t know though, it can change once I’m there. Do you want me to show them? I mean we might get bombarded by a bunch of questions for the future.” She blinked a few times and pulled away once she realized what he was doing. “Oh my god you want to prove yourself, don’t you? Prove to my parents and family that you’re not going to break my heart.”

“Is that a bad thing I want to prove myself?” He averted his eyes and sighed, than gazed into hers. “Skylar, I…”

He was interrupted when she crushed their lips together, she pulled away and smiled.

“It’s not a bad thing that you want to prove yourself. But you don’t need too and you never will.” She gave him another quick kiss and shook her head. “I never thought I would get to see you nervous about something, you were always so joyous when it comes to stressful situations. Now, sitting her seeing you get this nervous over meeting my family is both endearing and funny.”

“I just don’t want to lose you.”

“And you never will, ever! The one thing my parents always taught me was to go with my gut and heart, with everything. And my heart wants you, they’ll know that very soon.”

“Kotyonok, you have made me very smitten, you know that?”

“And I love it!” She chuckled. “You’ve made me very smitten too, moi sladkiy!”

xXx

They pulled into Skylar’s driveway and she took a deep breath. She hasn’t been here in over 5 months and she was overcome by a bunch of emotions. She shut off the car and pulled the keys from the ignition.

Turning to look over at Alex, she saw him checking out building, it put a smile on her face that he seemed so interested. “It’s not much, just a small condo.”

“It’s your home, kotyonok.” He turned to her, meeting her gaze in the darkness of her car. “I’m excited to see it.”

“It’s really not much, but let’s head inside before it starts to get cold.”

They both got out and Alex went to grab their bags from the back seat, while Skylar waited for him by the door. He shut the car door and headed over to her.

Skylar locked the car, then went to unlock the front door. It seemed weird being back home, the last time she was it was a week before she departed for Hereford and now she was back for the week, with her new boyfriend.

She opened the door, and with a blind eye flicking on the light switch, engulfing the room she hasn’t seen in months in bright lights. “Welcome to my humble abode. You can put our bags anywhere.”

She stepped aside and let Alex in, then shut and locked the door behind her. He placed the bags by the black leather couch you see when you first walk in and glanced around the room.

The living room was a decent size for a small condo. It housed a nice black leather couch, a small glass coffee table, a TV with a decent size entertainment center. There was small bookcase on the right side wall with a few pictures on it. He walked over to look at them.

“Is this your old team?”

He held up a picture of when she was still a Marine and she nodded. “Yeah, it was taking a month before the ambush.” She walked over to him, glancing down at the picture in hand. She pointed a young woman next to her in full tactical gear. “This was Molly, we were roommates when we first joined. She quickly became my best friend, kind of like Ash in a way. We used to talk about everything, from our families to past hookups. When we weren’t training or had a few days off we would get all the girls together for drinks and play some beer pong to get the stress and tension out. And now she’s gone.”

Alex set the picture down, and brought her in for a hug. “Losing friends is the worst part of this job. Yet we still find reasons to push on.”

“It is!” She looked up at him meeting his gaze. “Did you lose anyone?”

“I did! It was the early summer of 91, a few months before the collapse of the Soviet Union and a month prior before I was transferred over to the Spetsnaz. My friend Nikolai and I were doing a sweep in Afghanistan, standard stuff. Next thing I see is a blinding light and I’m being tossed a few feet back, after hearing a deafening crack.” He sighed and pulled her closer to him. “It really puts things into perspective when you see your friend blow up in front of you.”

“Jesus, I’m so sorry moi sladkiy!” She held him a little tighter, and gave him a small smile. “It’s ironic in a messed up way that both of our friends died almost the same way in the same country. Well I guess they did die the same way, they blew up.”

“It’s okay, kotyonok.” He leaned down and gave her a chaste kiss. “It was a long time ago.”

“I know, but still it sucks.” She looked over at the other pictures, than picked up the one of her on a horse. “I never told you but I have a horse.”

“You have a horse?”

Skylar let him go and showed him the picture of her on her mare, Midnight. “Told you! It was taken before I came to Rainbow, the last ride I went on too. Her name is Midnight and yes because she’s black.”

Alex laughed and took the picture from her to look at it better. She was mounted up on her horse, Midnight with a big smile on her face.

“I never said you were lying kotyonok. And Midnight, fitting. Do you live on like a farm?”

“No, it’s my aunt and uncles farm. They have all sorts of animals, horses, chickens, cows, a pond with a bunch of ducks. They never had kids so once my sisters’ and I arrived they taught us to ride from a young age, then got us are own horse.”

“No cousins then?”

He set the picture down and turned to her, only to have her grab his hand and lead him to the couch. Alex sat down with a content sigh, flying was always something he hated, being the size he is made it more difficult to get comfortable. He’d much rather be on a chopper.

Skylar straddled him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Nope and with the way things are going I’ll probably be the first one out of my sisters’ to have kids.” She grabbed the metal tag of his jacket and pulled it down. “How about we skip the house tour for now and go upstairs so I can give you a massage? I can see your muscles are tense from the flight.”

She got off his lap, offering her hand. She waited patiently while he took off his jacket, leaving it on the couch and grabbed her hand. Now hand in hand she lead him up the stairs and into her bedroom she hasn’t seen in months. Still looked like how she left it.

Letting go of his hand, she took off her own jacket, tossing it on the foot of the bed, then turned the light on. “I’m gonna need you to take off your shirt and sit on the bed. I’ll be with you after I get my pants off. Remind me to not wear skinny jeans on an eight hour flight, please?”

Alex laughed and walked over to her. He wrapped an arm around her waist, hand resting on her ass, then pulled her closer to him. “Kotyonok, you should’ve known better than to wear tight fitting pants when flying.”

“Oh shush.” She scoffed. “You liked it, don’t lie moi sladkiy!”

“I like you in everything, kotyonok!” He leaned down, placing a hard, passionate kiss upon her lips. “How about we postpone the massage and we try round two of you riding me?”

“I couldn’t the first time, what makes you think I’m capable of doing it this time?”

He grabbed her hips, picking her up with ease, her legs coming up to wrap around his waist. He kissed her again, a little more hungrily than before as he made his way to her bed. Still entangled in a kiss, he laid her down gently and pulled away to look down at her.

He began to push the hem of her shirt up her body, kissing up her stomach as he went along. He pulled away, moving her shirt over her head and discarding it on the floor behind him. Skylar bit her bottom lip as she undid her bra while he took off his shirt, both pieces of clothing meeting her shirt on the floor.

Alex was on top of her seconds later, kissing her deep and hard, his hands ravaging her body. Eight, plus hours of little contact was driving him mad, he was starting to wonder how he’ll deal with the sixteen hour flight to Saint Petersburg.

He moved his body slightly off hers to work on the button of her pants as she did his. With a blind eye she found the metal tag, pulling the zipper of his jeans down. She freed his aching member from its restraints, stroking it softly.

Letting out a soft moan, he broke the kiss. Skylar smirked when she saw the lust filling his eyes, making a surge of heat rush down between her legs. He pulled back, and took off her pants, leaving her bare in front of him. Then pulled his pants the rest of the way off.

Skylar moved up the bed, spreading her legs for him a little too eagerly. She would’ve been embarrassed by that, but they’ve been fucking like bunnies since the beginning.

He crawled between her legs, kissing the sensitive skin on her thighs until he came to her most sensitive part. Gripping her hips in a firm hold, he inched closer, she could feel his warm breath on her, making her shudder in response. Without warning he dove in, feasting off of her.

Skylar let out a loud moan, arching her back. “Moi sladkiy, a little warning next time.”

Alex pulled back, seeing her juices glistening on his chin. “Where’s the fun in that kotyonok?”

He went straight back in, not giving her time to catch a breath. It was no denying she was now undoubtedly wet and wanting more than his mouth. He seemed to have read her mind, by plunging two fingers into her wet heat, making her gasp.  
Pumping his fingers in and out she quivered beneath him. After one last lick of his tongue, he pulled away, but kept pumping his fingers in and out. “You’re such a wet and needy kotyonok. Aren’t you?”

She nodded her head vigorously and moaned. “Only for you moi sladkiy!”

He pulled his abused fingers from her and leaned down to place another hard kiss upon her lips. When he pulled away he laid down on his back, his cock already pooling pre-cum from the tip.

Skylar straddled him, grabbing his cock and slowly slid down until he was fully inside her - a soft moaning escaping both their lips. This time she wasn’t going to wait to adjust to his full size, she began her slow pace, rocking her hips gently up and down his member.

“Mmm fuck, why do you have to be so big?” She looked down at him, seeing the confusion on his face. “I’m not complaining, you feel amazing and you were right! I could ride you.”

He intertwined both their hands together, thrusting up into her. “I always knew you had it in you. Now let me take over before your legs get tired out, kotyonok.”

She bit her bottom lip and nodded. He wasted no time on taking over, his cock grazing over the bundle of nerves over and over again. Letting go of his hands, she hid her face in the crook of his neck as she cried out in pure ecstasy.

Alex wrapped his arms around her, taking a fistful of chestnut brown hair loosely in his hands. His thrusts becoming rougher and sloppier. And with one more thrust of his hips, Skylar came with a cry, her body quaking on top of his as her walls convulsed around his member.

That was his undoing, another thrust later, he stilled, cock throbbing as he spilled inside her.

With shaky limbs, she moved to lay her head on his chest as his cock still throbbed inside her. He rubbed his hand up and down her back as she came down from her high. Her breathing was labored and her body still shaking, she laid on him completely quiet.

“Are you okay, kotyonok? You’re usually not this quiet.”  
She looked up at him as he pulled out, giving him a few chaste kisses. “I’m fine, just exhausted that’s all. We should make love like this more often moi sladkiy!”

“We should!” He sat up, and kissed her, more deeply this time. “You’re so beautiful, kotyonok!”

Skylar could feel the heat in her cheeks rise, most likely turning red as she gazes into his eyes. “Why do I get so damn flustered with compliments? It’s annoying.”

“Because the men you were with before me never showered you in them. I will, from the moment we made this official to the day that I die.”

Her face softened and she sighed. “I wish you would just say it, moi sladkiy!”

“Say what kotyonok?”

“That you love me!”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking about cutting Skylar's and Tachanka's vacation time down, just so I can get the Outbreak over with. Even though I know it'll turn the tide in this fic. But don't worry there's still a lot of happy Skylar and Tachanka to come!
> 
> Russian Translations:  
> Kotyonok = Kitten  
> Moi Sladik = My Sweetness

Alex stared at her, mouth slightly agape. Twice now she had made him at a loss for words, just like a cat, she was sneaky. His eyes scanned her face as she patiently waited for him to speak, but no words came and he cursed himself. 

“Because, I love you! I spent years thinking I wasn’t worthy of being loved, why would I when I was so used to being used and discarded like I was nothing.” She gazed into his eyes - a few tears sliding down her cheeks. “Then you came along and showed me that wasn’t true! That I am worthy of being loved. In the short amount of time we’ve been together that’s all you have shown me, love and compassion. I love you Alex, so much that it hurts!” 

Skylar found herself in a passionate kiss, her arms wrapping around his neck. He pulled away, looking down at her with glistening eyes. 

“I love you my kotyonok! I should’ve said it days ago, but I was scared. I didn’t know if me saying it would scare you away, so I just didn’t say it.” He shut his eyes, letting a few tears escape his eyes, then opened them again. “You have had my heart from the moment I laid eyes on you all those months ago. I would lay in my bed every night wondering what it would be like to have you in my arms, to make love to you, to wake up every morning grateful that you’re mine! I never wanted to be married or be a father until I met you. I want us to have a big wedding filled with family and friends, I want us to have a family someday. When I look at you, I don’t see my girlfriend, I see my wife! I see the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, to build a family with. I love you Skylar and I don’t want to live without you!” 

“You never will!” She leaned over, making their lips meet in another passionate kiss. When she pulled away, she noticed a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, he looked even more happy than before. “I want to be your wife, and have your children. I want you to be the first face I see when I wake up and the last before I go to bed. I want to cook dinner together, I want to laze around our home together. I want to raise our children together. I picture my future only with you!” 

“I love you, kotyonok!” 

“I love you too, moi sladik!” 

He leaned over and kissed her once more. Skylar smiled and got off his lap, offering her hand. He quickly obliged and she pulled them into the bathroom. 

She turned on the water to get a bath going, then grabbed some toilet paper to clean herself up with. Once she was clean she threw the used toilet paper into the trash and sat down on the edge of the bathtub. 

“What do you think we’ll have first. A boy or a girl?” 

Alex walked over and sat down next to her. “Both!” 

“Both?” She chuckled. “So twins then?”

“Exactly! How many kids do you want, kotyonok?” 

Skylar contemplated his words as she shut off the water and got in. Followed by Alex a few seconds later. The warm water felt amazing against their cramped muscles from the flight. 

She moved over and straddled him again, settling down in his lap. “I don’t know, I guess I’ll have to wait until I’m holding our first born in my arms.” 

Alex nodded and brought her in for a hug. She laughed as she rested her head on his shoulder, feeling his hand rub up and down her back. They both felt at peace, the hardest part was over and he could now say he loved her whenever he wanted and so could she. 

“I can’t wait to see that, you holding our child! All safe and warm in their mama’s arms.” 

“And I can’t wait to see you change a diaper.” She chuckled and moved her head off his shoulder. She bit her bottom lip, staring at a scar on his chest then met his gaze. “I’ve been thinking about stopping my birth control after new years.” 

“Kotyonok, are you sure?” He glanced over her body, slight concern etched on his features. “I know I’m excited to finally start having children, but you’re still young. Are you truly sure you want to take on that big of a responsibility this young?” 

Skylar gave him a small smile, then gave him a peck on the lips. “I’m very sure I’m ready to take on that big of a responsibility! Don’t take this the wrong way moi sladik, but you’re kinda up there in age and I want our children to get a few long decades with their papa.” 

“You would really do that for me Sky?” 

“Yes, because I know what it’s like. And I don’t want our child to go through what I’m still going through.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “It’s not easy being the youngest by a decade.” She opened her eyes, only to meet his worrying gaze. “Yeah there’s a lot of perks being the youngest, until you realize that I won’t get the same amount of time with my parents as my sisters’ did. I don’t want our youngest to get hit with the reality of you might not being there for all the important stuff.” 

“You didn’t join the military just to pay off your tuition did you, kotyonok?” 

“No.” She found herself in his embrace again, his hand rubbing up and down her back. It was calming being in his arms…..almost peaceful in a way. “And no, me distancing myself from my parents has nothing to do with me wanting to get married and have children sooner.” 

“You shouldn’t distance yourself from them, kotyonok.” His grip around her tightened a bit and he nuzzled his face in her hair. “You don’t want to look back and regret not getting every moment you can with them.” 

“I’m not really distancing myself from them, I do go home every chance I get. Maybe I just want to be a little more independent and know what life will feel like once they’re gone.” She lifted her head off his shoulder again. He watched her as her eyes widened, like she forgot something. “Crap I was supposed to call them once we landed.” She scrubbed a hand down her face and chuckled. “We could drop by their house if you wanted? They won’t mind and I’m sure they’d be ecstatic to see me and meet you.” 

“Yeah, let’s go.” 

xXx

They pulled up in front of her parents' house that was all decked out for Christmas. She can still remember being little and coming out with her dad to put up the Christmas lights outside. And once they were done, they would go back in for some hot cocoa. 

“Festive.” 

“Wait until you see inside.” Skylar said with a laugh as she shut off the car. “My family usually goes big for the Holiday’s.”  
“I kinda like it. I’m sure it made your childhood fun.” 

“It did.” She smiled to herself, then glanced up at him. “Why don’t we head in.” 

Alex nodded and they both got out of the car. Her heart was pounding a bit as she walked up the sidewalk leading up to her parents home. Going up the stairs she saw the Rudolph statue they had since before she was born, sitting in the same spot on the porch. 

Skylar would’ve just walked in and surprised them but she knew the door would be locked by now and she didn’t want them to know someone was there by unlocking the door, so she rang the doorbell instead. And on cue she heard the sound of the all too familiar barking of their dog. 

“You didn’t tell me they had a dog, kotyonok.” 

She looked over at him with a small smile. “Sorry, I forgot to mention it. You like dogs right?” 

“I do.” He chuckled. “But I am more of a cat person.” 

“Haven’t noticed.” They both chuckled and turned their heads when they heard the door opened. She smiled when she saw her dad at the door, completely in shock. “Hi dad!” 

“Skylar?” He came out to hug her, all tight like he did before she left for Hereford.” I wasn’t expecting to see you guys until tomorrow.” He looked over at Alex, giving him a warm fatherly smile. “And you must be Alex.”

Her dad let go of her and held out his hand for Alex to shake. “Yes, sir.” 

“You’re the sir here, you can just call me Carl.” Alex nodded and they let go of each others hand. “Why don’t we head inside, your mother is gonna be ecstatic to see you Sky.” 

They both followed him inside, Alex shut the door behind him, glancing around the entryway. He could see a small closet to his right and a few pictures lining the wall. They rounded the corner, heading into the living room where her mom was and their dog was. The pooch quickly got off one of the couches and bolted straight for Skylar with her tail wagging.   
“Hi Dixie I’ve missed you.” She gave the pooch a few scratches behind the ear, then looked over at her mom. “Hey mom!” 

“Oh my...Skylar, I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow.” She got off the couch to hug her. “And you must be Alex. It’s nice to finally meet you, I’m Sarah.” 

“It’s nice to meet you too, Skylar has told me a lot about you.” 

Sarah let got of Skylar to hug Alex. Skylar looked over at them with a smile, she loved how her parents were already accepting him into the family and they just met not even five minutes ago. 

Skylar grabbed his hand, leading him over to the couch to sit down. She sat closest to the armrest and Alex took a seat right next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. 

“Did you guys have a nice flight?” Sarah asked as she sat down, her father joining beside her. 

“It was fine. Just crowded, but that’s too be expected when flying on Christmas day.” said Skylar with a chuckle. “I have a good travel partner though, so it could have been worse.” She placed her hand on his thigh, looking up at him with a smile. From her peripheral vision she could see the small smile on her parents' faces, making her slightly grown and turn to them. “Please stop.” 

“Stop what?” Her father asked arching a brow. 

“I see the smirk on your face dad, you know what I mean.” She chuckled. 

He put his hands up in defeat and laughed. “Okay, okay. I just haven’t seen you this happy in a long time. It’s nice to see.” 

Alex’s arm tightened around her shoulder, rubbing up and down her arm. She glanced from her parents to him, then back to her parents and sighed through her nose. Her parents watch them closely, seeing Alex console her as soon as he saw her in distress. A small proud smile formed on both their faces. 

“It’s nice to feel this happy again. Joining Rainbow was the change I needed, I’ve met some of the most incredible people and I feel like I belong again. Something I haven’t felt since I was a Marine.” 

Alex’s face softened, along with her mom and dad’s. Three people in her life that knew what she went through and how much it affected her. Alex might not have been there when it first happened but he was going to be there when the memories come back to haunt her. 

“We may worry about you a lot with your line of work, but we’re proud of you. You’ve found your calling in this world and that’s all we can ask for.” 

“I wish you could see what we do, but you would also have a heart attack so maybe not.”

Alex laughed and shook his head, then looked over to her parents. “I’m happy she joined Rainbow, she’s made the team and my life a lot better.” 

Skylar’s face softened and she looked over at him. “That’s so sweet!” 

“It’s the truth kotyonok!” 

She sighed in defeat and glanced over to her parents who both looked confused. It only made her laugh. “Kotyonok is Russian for kitten.” 

“Kitten?” Her mother asked with a raised brow and an amused look on her face. “That’s cute for a pet name.” She looked from Skylar over to Alex. “Where’d you come up with that one if you don’t mind me asking.” 

“Not at all.” He looked over at Sky, smiling down at her. “She’s small, cute and feisty like one. It suited her perfectly.” 

“Yeah that does sound like my daughter.” Her dad said with a laugh, making her roll her eyes at him. “So did you guys work together a lot?” 

“Actually no. We’ve been on one mission together, other than that we would just talk occasionally when we saw each other around base.” She glanced over at Alex, a small smile on her face. “But those conversations were always the best.” 

“They were, kotyonok. It also made us have something to look forward too.” 

“Mmm it did.” She nodded. “Now we have better things to look forward too.” Skylar glanced over to her parents to see that loving look on their faces. It made her laugh. “Oh my god.” 

“I won’t say anything.” said Carl with a laugh. “Truthfully Skylar I’m just happy you found someone who cares about you as much as Alex does. Especially after the other guy.” 

“You mean my next target practice for my LMG?” 

Carl looked over at Alex with a raised brow, but an amused look on his face. “She told you about him I take it?” 

“Yes she did.” With his free hand, he gently grabbed her hand that rested on his thigh, giving it a small squeeze. “I don’t understand how anyone could treat someone as loving and caring as Skylar like that. It makes my blood boil. She didn’t deserve that.” 

“No she didn’t. I’m just happy he’s out of the picture, for good.” He gave Alex a small smile then looked over at Skylar. “I’m just surprised she even told you. I thought she would keep that hidden forever.” 

“I needed too. I needed to explain why I did something, which I now feel bad for, but it makes a funny story.” She chuckled and shook her head. “It’s also embarrassing.” 

“It’s also how we became a couple.” Alex chimed in 

“No, more like the starting process of us becoming a couple.” She looked over at her parents’ and sighed. “I can’t believe I’m telling this. It happened during the Holiday party, we were taking shots with some friends, we snuck away to get some privacy away from a room full of people. And later that night I found myself in his bed and I woke up in the middle of the night, had a slight panic and left. I then avoided him for two days.” 

“Skylar, why would you avoid him?” Her mother asked. 

“I sorta vowed to myself that I wouldn’t sleep with anyone I wasn’t dating. I just didn’t want a repeat of last time, and instead of being an adult and talking with him, I avoided him.” 

“Skylar!” 

“What? Hey either way, it worked out. So there.” 

“She does have a point Sarah.” 

“Carl!” 

“Sorry dear.” 

Skylar laughed. It felt nice to be back again, back in the house she grew up in for the first seventeen years of her life, with her parents’ that she missed dearly. It almost made it difficult to go back to Hereford. 

“Do you guys have any special plans for your time off?” Carl asked. 

“Not really, I wasn’t even planning on being here for the Holiday’s. Let alone there really isn’t much to do here during the winter.” She looked over at Alex, a small smirk spreading across her face. “I do know this one has a lot planned for us when we go to Russia.” 

“Da, I do. Unfortunately I can’t tell anyone, it’ll ruin the surprise.” 

Skylar crossed her arms. “Hmph.” 

“You’ll find out soon, kotyonok.” 

“Not soon enough.” 

Alex laughed and kissed her temple again. “You are not very good with surprises.” 

“She’s actually the worst.” said her father. “For her eighth birthday we told her we had a surprise for her. She kept bugging us for the whole week asking what it was. Never tell her you have a surprise for her, unless you want her asking what it is a bunch of times.” 

“Mmm, I’m finding it out now.” He laughed. “She’ll find out very soon.” 

Skylar glared at him for a brief second then turned to her dad. “So how’s the business and my pain in the ass sisters’?”   
“The business is good, I suspect it’ll be busy until after new years. As for your sisters’ Valary and Evan are having some marital problems, other than that they’re good and Chloe and Jack are in the middle of planning their wedding, but they’re good too. They’re all excited to see you.” 

“Val and Evan are having marital problems?” Her eyes widened a bit. “I never thought that day would come. They always seemed to have their marriage in working order, then again I don’t know what happens behind closed doors. And uh, do they have the date for their wedding yet? I need to know or we might not be able to make it.” 

Skylar maneuvered herself so her legs draped over Alex’s thighs, resting her back against the arm of the couch. Her dad chuckled and shook his head at how relaxed she was, just like she never left home. 

“They’ve actually been going through a rough patch for awhile now.” said Sarah. “They’ve been seeing a marriage counselor for almost a year. It seems to be helping, whatever the problem is. They don’t have a date set yet, you could always ask her tomorrow.” 

“True and you don’t know what the problem is? Val usually tells you guys everything.” 

“Not this time kiddo. She wants it to be kept between them.” 

“Understandable.” She grabbed Alex’s hand that was resting on her lap and sighed. “I have a theory on why they might be having marital problems.” 

“You do?” asked her parents in unison. 

“I think it has to do with children.” She glanced over at Alex who had his full attention on her, then over to her parents’. “Val would have to put her career on hold to have one and she doesn’t want to, at least not yet. Let alone they’ll be turning 38 soon, that means more problems will arise when it comes to having said child the older they get. I think Evan wants to start a family while Val doesn’t and that’s what's causing the problem.” 

“That does seem plausible, Val never really wanted kids in the first place.” said Sarah. 

“Exactly, now I’m wondering if she lied to Evan about it. I mean Alex and I just started dating and we already talked about any future kids we might have.” 

Skylar snorted when she saw the amused looks on her parents' faces, then shook her head and laughed. 

“We have, along with all the other important stuff.” 

“In your line of work, I can see why you would talk about that stuff so soon. Then again your mother and I talked about marriage, a family while we were still in school. It all depends on the couple.” 

Skylar looked over at Alex, a smile etched on her face. “That’s true. We already plan on moving in together after the holiday’s, get off the base to have a lot more privacy.” 

“Are you even aloud to do that?” Carl asked. “I thought the military had rules for that?” 

“Da, they do. Rainbow isn’t your typical military, it’s an Anti-Terrorist organization that only deals with one thing. We don’t need to live on base if we don’t want to.” 

Carl nodded his head. “You have to stay close to base right?” 

“Yeah, we’ll still be in Hereford, not like we can move to London.” 

“I’m sure Grace would love that, kotyonok.” 

“She would!” Her face lit up at the thought of Grace at the warehouse, how she helped with loading up the supplies and became slightly attached to her. “She was the little girl we met at the warehouse. She said I was pretty and liked my jacket, then we talked about cats and how if my dad knew I had a boyfriend. Oh and that Alex was staring all googly eyed at me.” 

“And she helped load up the supplies with us.” Alex chimed in. 

“That’s cute! Like I said before Skylar, children always did gravitate to you.” 

She rolled her eyes and laughed. “I know mom. I guess the experience will help with any of my future kids too.” 

“That’s very true. You know you were the only one out of your sisters’ to want children, and someday I hope you do!” 

Skylar could feel Alex’s eyes on her, no doubt with a soft look on his face. There was a part of her that wanted to tell her parents’ the truth, that her and Alex weren’t going to take things slow and they could for the most part be grandparents within the year. For some reason she couldn’t. 

“I do want kids, I want a family someday and I hope it happens someday too. Just deciding when is the hard part.” 

Sarah laughed and glanced between them. “There’s no perfect timing on starting a family Sky. It’s whenever you and Alex feel like you’re ready.” 

Skylar glanced over at Alex to see the gleeful look on his face, or it could’ve been surprise, either way it was kinda cute to see him like that. She turned back to her parents with a small smile on her face. 

“What if we never actually know?” 

“Trust me you will.” 

She nodded her head, then glanced back over to Alex. The little conversation they had earlier kept replaying in her mind, now she had some concerns running through it. She wanted kids, Alex’s kids to be exact, but now she wasn’t so sure she was fully ready for that now. 

They spent another hour at her parents’ house talking about some embarrassing things that happened in her youth that she knows Alex will never let her live it down and other random things that happened in the past five months she’s been gone. All in all it turned out to be a good night. 

xXx

Every since they got back to her apartment Alex could sense something was wrong. And now that they were cuddling in bed after having a very late dinner, he finally asked. 

“Is everything okay kotyonok?” 

She looked up, meeting his gaze. “Yeah, just thinking.” She leaned forward, giving him a chaste kiss. “I’m not sure if I’m going to stop my birth control now. A part of me wants too, and the other is being more realistic. What if I don’t know if I'm pregnant and something happens during a mission? I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.” 

“You never needed to stop your birth control in the first place, I don’t care how old I am when we welcome our first child into this world kotyonok. I’ll be ready whenever you are.” 

“I know that.” She moved her head to rest her chin on her hand as she looked up at him. “I don’t know how to explain it.” 

“You don’t need too, I think I understand.” 

“Hmm, I love you!” 

“I love you too kotyonok!” 

Skylar slid her leg over his waist, straddling him. He sat up wrapping his hands around her hips and pulling her closer. She felt his breath on her neck as he kissed along her scar, forcing a soft moan from her lips. 

“I really hope our sex life never dwindles, even after having kids.” 

Alex stopped kissing her scar to gaze into her eyes. “Never! I’ll make love to you whenever, wherever you want kotyonok.” 

“Same goes for you moi sladik. Well for the most part.” She leaned down placing a firm kiss upon his lips. “There will be a week out of the month where we won’t be able too.” 

“That still leaves three weeks for a ton of love making, kotyonok.” 

He went back to kissing at her scar, her hands traveling up his back to grab a fistful of blonde hair. “I know and I love it!” 

“One more round before bed?” 

“Absolutely! Like I would say no to that.” 

xXx

The sound of Skylar’s phone going off woke her from an almost dreamless sleep. With a blind hand she reached over to her nightstand to grab it. When she finally opened her eyes to look at the screen she saw a text message from her mom. 

“We’re going to have postpone brunch until tomorrow, your dad had to work and so did Chloe. And I’m sure you and Alex still have jet lag, so get some sleep and I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“Is everything okay kotyonok?” 

She set her phone back on the nightstand, turning over to see Alex awake. She gave him a small smile and a chaste kiss. “Yes, brunch got postponed until tomorrow. Dad has to work and so does Chloe. Now we have more time to recover from jet lag.” 

He nodded his head, and placed his hand on her hip, trying to pull her closer to him. Skyla chuckled when he couldn’t and moved over to him, nuzzling her face against his chest as his arms wrapped around her. 

“I forgot to tell you last night that you were right, about your parents’ accepting me.” 

“I told you they would.” She chuckled. “They easily saw how much you love and care for me. And I’m sure the PDA helped too.” 

“I do love and care for you kotyonok! I will until the day that I die.” He looked down at her and kissed her forehead. “You don’t mind the PDA, do you?” 

“The same goes for you too moi sladik! I love and care about you too, will for the rest of my days.” She leaned up a bit until their lips met in a more passionate kiss. “Not at all, I actually really like it.” 

“Okay good, because I wasn’t going to stop anyways.” 

“Good, I didn’t want you to stop anyways.” She softly laughed and gave him another quick kiss. “I just want to stay in bed and do nothing. It’s nice to have some time off.” 

“It does feel nice.” He tightened his hold around her, nuzzling his face into her hair. “It’s even nicer that I get to spend it with my kotyonok.” 

“What would you be doing right now if we weren’t together?”   
“Working on my LMG, maybe go back home for a quick visit. Nothing special.” He sighed. “What would you be doing?” 

“Relaxing on base, get some training in. Bugging Thatcher, who knows.” She looked up at him through hooded eyes, gently turning his head so he was looking at her. “I know you were lonely before and the holiday’s probably sucked because of that. You don’t have to worry about that anymore moi sladik, you have a family again.” 

His eyes started to glisten as he gazed into her hazel eyes. A family! Something he really hasn’t had in years. Yes he considered Kapkan, Glaz and Fuze his family, but they had their own family. Parents, siblings, aunts and uncles who would love to see them for the holiday’s. Alex didn’t have that, not since both of his parents’ passed away years ago. 

Now he did, all because of Skylar. 

“I do, don’t I?” 

“Yes you do! And next thing you know that family will grow, and that loneliness will become a distant memory.” 

“That’s true kotyonok. But it already is becoming a distant memory.” 

“Good!” She sat up, making sure the blankets didn’t fall down her naked frame. “You’ve been there for me since the beginning, and that goes both ways. If you ever want to talk or just lie in bed cuddling, I’m here!” 

His face softened as he sat up, letting the blanket fall limp in his lap. His hands grabbed her hips, gently picking her up and setting her on his lap. “I know you are, and I’m sure days like that will come.” 

“I know I never said it and I just wanted you to know! After we found out about my sister’s marital problems, I don’t want us to hide things from each other, even if we might hurt each other’s feelings here and there.” 

“Kotyonok, I would never hide something from you. We can talk about anything and everything.” He grabbed the dog tag that laid limp against her chest, feeling the engravings under his finger. “You didn’t have to say it, I already knew.” 

“Well I wanted too!” He let go of the dog tag, wrapping his arms around her waist. “As much as I love you and love being together, I wish we met sooner.” 

“I feel the same kotyonok!” He moved them to a lying down position, with Skylar’s body resting on top of his. 

She laid her head against his chest, hearing his calming heartbeat. She just wanted to stay there, forever in his arms. Not worry about work, or other priorities, just them and a warm bed. This was perfect. 

“What was your mom’s name moi sladik?” 

He rubbed his hands up and down her back, like he did every time they laid like this. It was comforting to the both of them. “Marianna!” 

Skylar heard a faintness of sadness when he spoke her name, wishing he still had her in his life. 

“Then I know exactly what we should name our daughter.” She lifted her head off his chest, a soft, warm smile on her face. 

“You would name our daughter after my mama?” He scanned her face, looking for any signs she might change her mind. 

She leaned forward, giving him a chaste kiss. “I can see how much you miss her and I would love to name our daughter after her. It’s a beautiful name!” 

“Thank you, kotyonok!” 

“You’re welcome moi sladik!” 

The rest of the day and well into the night was spent lying in bed under the covers in each other’s arms. Watching movies, eating and a few rounds of very passionate sex. Lounging around was doing well for their tired bodies, and spending it with each other was the icing on the cake. The beginning of their vacation was looking promising, and it could only get better from there.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Another long one! I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Russian:   
> Kotyonok = Kitten  
> Moi Sladik = My Sweetness  
> Da = Yes  
> Ya lyublyu tebya vsem serdtsem = I love you from the bottom of my heart

The sun was peeking through the purple curtains, illuminating the room in bright rays of sunlight. It was early morning, they still had a few hours to kill before heading over to Skylar’s parents’ house for brunch. Now they were just lying in bed, both on their phones. 

Alex was scrolling through whatever website he uses to look for new LMGs and Skylar was checking her social media and having a small conversation with Ela. Apparently there were already rumors going around about her and Alex, and Ela wanted to know if it was true. Now she was just waiting on her reply back after telling her yes, it is. 

“There’s already rumors going around base about us.” Skylar chuckled and turned to him, seeing his brow raised, but still on his phone. “Ela just asked if we’re together.” 

“Who do you think started it, kotyonok?” 

“Probably big mouth Thermite. He was most likely talking to someone and blurted it out.” 

“Hmm. What did Ela say?” 

“I don’t know, she hasn’t answered back yet.” Skylar put her phone down on the bed, then wiggled herself under Alex’s arm, watching him scroll through the website. “I could get used to this. Lying in bed all day.” 

“We shouldn’t though, we’ll be back to work before we know it!” 

She turned to look at him, eyes narrowing at him. “You just had to ruin it, didn’t you?” 

“I didn’t ruin anything kotyonok. I was just saying…”

“We shouldn’t get used to it. I know but I miss being lazy and not having something to do everyday. We’re either training or out on a mission and I’m just tired.” 

She didn’t mean to sound so whiny, it was the truth, she was tired. Physically and mentally and needed this break. And as much as she loves her job, the grind can become too much for her. 

He set his phone down, moving a strand of hair behind her ear. His hand fell down to cup her cheek, caressing the skin beneath his thumb. “I didn’t know work was affecting you this badly.” 

“It’s...not.” She leaned into his touch, a small smile forming on her face. “I just wish we could have a day off where we do nothing. Missing one day of training isn’t going to kill us.” 

“Why don’t you talk to Six about it?” 

“Maybe I will!” She draped herself over his torso, laying her head on his chest. “Hopefully she’ll consider it. Or we could have the weekend off, that’d be better.” 

“I don’t mind either way.” He smirked at her. “And since my precious little kotyonok hates training so much, maybe I can help with that.” 

Skylar let out a laugh, propping her head up on her elbow. “We would never get a full training session in, you know that. We would fool around and then probably have sex right on the mat. Regarding if anyone was still in the gym.” 

Her phone went off with a ding, moving slightly off his torso to grab it, then settled back down. On her lock screen she saw a message from Ela. 

“I always knew you were into older men Sky! And I give major kudos for tying down a man like Tachanka. I want to hear everything when you get back to base.” 

Skylar scoffed and shook her head. “I’ll take that as a compliment. I have so much to tell you, also who started the rumor? And who else knows?” She clicked her phone shut and turned her attention back on him. “It was Ela.” 

“You make it sound like having sex in the gym is a bad thing.” He chuckled. “What’d she say?” 

“It’s not a bad thing, not very sanitary. Just that she always knew I was into older men, that she gives me major kudos for tying a man like you down.” She chuckled at that. It was a little miraculous that she was the one to make Lord Tachanka stop being single, and think about the future. “And she wants to know everything when we get back to base.” 

His hand slid over her hip, resting on her ass. Well more like kneading it. “Is Ela saying I’m whipped?” 

“Mmm.” She made herself look like it was a more complex question than it was, that it needed more thinking too. “Yes!” 

“Good because I am! Anyone who thinks being whipped is bad, doesn’t care about their significant other.” 

She leaned over, crushing their lips together. While still being entangled in the kiss, she maneuvered herself so she was straddling him. He hummed into the unexpected kiss, sliding his hands down her sides. A moment later she broke it, gazing into his blue eyes. 

“I love you!” 

“I love you too!” He sat up, pulling her a little bit closer to him. “And nothing is going to change that.” 

“Even when have like ten kids?” 

“Ten?” His eyes widened, making her laugh. “That’s a lot of kids, kotyonok.” His brows furrowed in a line, eyes narrowing at her. “Of course I’m going to love you when we have kids. What kind of question is that?” 

“I’m joking on both. Ten kids is too much for me and I know you’ll still love me when we do have kids. I just wanted to see your reaction.” 

He shook his head, a small smile still formed on his face. Skylar did have a strange sense of humor. “Good. Ten is a lot and we would have to start now if we wanted that many. You did say I was old and wanted our children to spend a good few, long decades with me.” 

“First of all we don’t have a set limit on how many kids we want. And two, yes I did say that. It’s not my fault you were born twenty-six years before me.” 

“It was my parents’.” He laughed and kissed her nose. “I know we don’t have a set limit on kids yet, kotyonok. You were the one to say you’ll know how many we’ll have once you hold our first born.” 

“I think I might recall saying that.” Her phone set of another ding, making her lean over to grab it. 

“Thermite was talking with Smoke and mentioned it. Everyone that’s left on the base knows. Smoke, Thatcher, Lion, Mira, who happened to be very happy about it. She thinks you guys make a cute couple. Jackal and Sledge. I’m sure you know everyone will know by the time vacation ends.” 

“I really don’t like Thatcher and Smoke knowing and I’m going to murder Thermite when I get back.” She closed her phone again and groaned. “I was right it was Jordan that started it. And everyone still on base knows now.” 

“You don’t sound too happy about that kotyonok?” He moved a strand of hair that fell on her face behind her ear. 

“I’m not upset that people know, they were going to find out eventually anyways. It wasn’t his decision to tell anyone, it was ours.” 

“You’re right, it wasn’t Jordan’s place to tell anyone about us. What’s done is done, no point in getting worked up over it.” 

Skylar let out a sigh, running her hand over his bare chest. “You just accept things, so easily. For some reason I can’t.” 

He placed his hand on the small of her back, flipping their position. He gently set her down on the bed, moving the strands of hair that fell in her face. “You don’t have to. I’ve lived long enough to know when to accept something and when I shouldn’t. Besides I don’t mind my kotyonok complaining.” 

“That’s good because I tend to complain a lot.” She laughed and leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. “Well when there’s something to complain about.” 

“Like when Jordan outed our relationship?” 

“Exactly.” Alex laughed and leaned down to give her a quick kiss before getting off her. She moved onto her side, propping her head up with her elbow. “I would text him and yell at him for it, but it’s not worth the energy.”

“It really isn’t kotyonok.” 

She draped herself over him again and propped her head up with her elbow. “Anyways, so far Thatcher, Smoke, Mira, Ela, Lion, Jackal and Sledge know about us. Smoke and Thatcher are the ones I’m worried about.” 

He placed his hand on her hip and the other held his phone. He opened his camera, taking a quick pic of her laying across him. “I’m sure they’re not gonna care kotyonok.” 

“You better not show anyone that picture Alex.” She narrowed her eyes and laughed. “Well Smoke will become annoyingly nose-y and it’s just weird Thatcher knows. Mira is very happy about us though, she says we make a cute couple!” 

A small smirk started to form across his face, and the hand that resided on her hip slowly started to move down closer to her ass. “What picture do you speak of kotyonok?” 

“The one you just took of me Alexsandr!” 

“Awe, why not? It’s cute.” 

“You know why.” She chuckled. “Would you like me showing some risky picture of you to my friends?”

“Only Jordan, I’m positive I’m bigger than he is and I want him to be jealous.” 

Skylar sighed through her nose and just narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m going to forget you ever said that.” She glanced over at the clock, another sigh leaving her lips. “We should start to get ready.” She got off the bed, grabbing a clean pair of underwear and a loose fitting shirt. “I’m gonna take a shower...alone this time.” 

Alex crossed his arms and scoffed. He watched her walk into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. He leaned down, finding his discarded boxers and pulled them on. A shower was in the itinerary for him as well, he didn’t want to go to her parents’ house smelling like sex. 

He pushed himself off the bed and grabbed his bag off the floor. Setting it back down on the bed he pulled out a fresh pair of boxers, socks, a pair of jeans and a plain black t-shirt, setting them aside he sat back down on the bed, eyes glancing back at the door while he searched for a little black box in his bag. When he found it he pulled it out. 

A small smile started to form as he opened it, seeing the diamond ring staring back at him. An engagement ring was a fairly new phenomenon in Russia, normally you would just exchange wedding rings, which happened to be golden bands. He liked it, liked the idea and the meaning behind it. It was a symbol for two people to share, a symbol of their dedication, love and commitment to each other. 

Now he just needed to figure out the right time to ask her father for her hand, without her hearing and find the perfect time to ask her if she’ll marry him. 

Every time he thought about that, his heart would race. With fear and excitement. Asking her father for her hand would be a step away from asking her, but there was still a small chance he could say no and that frightened him. 

He closed the small box and put it back in his bag, then set the bag back on the floor. It wasn’t that long ago where marriage was a foreign subject to him, now he openly talks about it. Like Skylar said before, finding the right person does change you. 

Grabbing his phone he leaned back against the headboard of the bed, he continued scrolling through the site he was on, seeing if there were any Degtyaryov he doesn’t own for sale. For the most part he own the majority he was seeing and the few he didn’t were on the more price-y side. And he wasn’t sure if he wanted to spend that kind of money. 

The bathroom door opened and Skylar came out wrapped in a towel with the clothes she brought in there in her hand. She tossed the clothes on the bed and went to her dresser, she pulled out a pair of black jeans, and a white cami, then went to her closet and pulled out a purple plaid shirt. 

“I was surprised you didn’t join me. I was half expecting you too.” She sat down next to him, adjusting the towel around her. 

“You said you didn’t want me too.” He set his phone down in the nightstand and sat up more. 

“Yeah, but you didn’t have to listen.” 

“So you would’ve been okay with me joining you then?” He quirked a brow and crossed his arms. 

“Yes. I would.” 

“Then why’d you say no in the first place?” He threw his hands up in the air and let out a small laugh. 

“I don’t know, to see if you would actually listen.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I was hoping you wouldn’t.” 

Alex’s lips slightly parted and he scooted over to her, hand sliding up her thigh, hiking up the towel that covered her. “Ah, my kotyonok wanted another round, didn’t she?” 

He didn’t wait for an answer, he just grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the bathroom. 

xXx

They were both dressed now and Skylar was letting her hair air dry which wasn’t the best idea during the winter when she has to leave her house and bare the cold. But they still had an hour left and her hair should be completely dry by then. 

As they waited they decided to spend their time downstairs in the kitchen, that’s when Skylar saw the little surprise her mom left them. She pulled off the tinfoil and saw the cookies, grabbing two she walked back over to the counter and handed one to Alex. 

“Here. You need to try these.” She took a bite, moaning in satisfaction. 

He grabbed the cookie from her hand, looking down at it. “Are these the ones your mom makes?” 

She nodded and took another bite, then watched him. He took a bite, eyes slightly widening as he looked down at it in his hands. “I know!” 

“These are delicious, do you think she can make some to take with us to Russia?” 

“Yes, she loves to bake so it won’t be a problem.” She watched him glanced over at the plate behind her and chuckled. “How about after brunch at my parents’ house we just spend the evening inside watching movies and eating the rest of those cookies?” 

“Sounds perfect, kotyonok!”   
xXx

Skylar pulled in on the street her parents’ lived on, parking in front of their house. That’s when she noticed her sister’s car parked in front of her. “Well Val and Evan are here. Not sure about Chloe and Jackson yet.” She looked around trying to see if she can see their car. “Don’t see their car.” 

“We are early, kotyonok.” He undid his seat-belt, as Skylar shut off the car and undid hers. “Or they could already be here, maybe they bought a new car?” 

“Good point. I guess we’ll find out when we go in.” 

Alex chuckled and both of them got out of the car. A cold breeze blew by, making Skylar shiver and jog to the porch. She turned around to see him shaking his head and casually walking up the porch steps. She smiled up at him, then opened the front door and walked in. 

He closed the door behind him while Skylar took off her jacket and hung it up. “Let me take yours.” 

Alex shrugged his jacket off and handed it to her. “Thank you, kotyonok!” 

“You’re welcome moi sladik!” 

They both laughed and headed towards the kitchen. It was a little too quiet for Skylar’s liking, so she knew someone was going to try and scare her. “Don’t even think about scaring me. I have a Tachanka and I know how to use him.” 

“You have a what now?” said Evan. 

Skylar chuckled and rounded the corner, seeing Evan sitting at the table with a raised brow. Next to him was her sister, but no signs of Chloe and Jackson. And her mom and dad were by the stove. “No Chloe yet?” 

“They’ll be here later. Now are you gonna tell me what a Tachanka is?” 

She didn’t say anything, just pointed at Alex. Evan just glanced up to him and back to her. “No Skylar that’s your boyfriend.” 

She snorted and sat down, Alex following suit. “I know and his call-sign is Tachanka. But a real Tachanka is a horse drawn machine gun. Anyways, Alex, Evan. Evan, Alex.” 

Evan reached his hand over the table to shake his. “Nice to meet you.” 

“You too.” 

“And this is my very quiet sister Valary. Why are you so quiet?” 

“I’m working.” Val lifted her head up from her phone, giving Alex a small smile and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.” 

Skylar could sense something was off by how she said ‘nice to meet you’, but didn’t want to start anything so she dropped it. Alex moved Skylar’s chair closer to him, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. 

“How’s the construction business going?” 

“Slow with it being winter. How’s your work life?” 

“Busy. We’re either training or on a mission. I’m just happy we have some time off.” She glanced over at Alex with a small smile on her face, hand resting on his thigh. 

“I bet, I couldn’t do what you guys do. It has to be scary.” 

“It can be, especially when things don’t go as planned. But you can’t lose focus, lose focus and you could die. Or worse get one of your teammates killed. There’s also a lot of good things that come with this job too. I love seeing a hostage I just helped rescue being reunited with loved ones and how happy and relieved they are.” 

“That was one.” 

Skylar looked over at her sister with a raised brow. “Huh?” 

Valary looked up, placing her phone on the table. “You said there were a lot of good things that come with your job. You only said one, what are the others?” 

“Here we go.” She sighed through her nose and glared over at Valary. “Do you even realize what I do for a living or do you just think we put our lives on the line for no reason?” 

“Don’t you?” She leaned back and crossed her arms, Evan glancing over at her with a worried look on his face. 

“No, we don’t. Rainbow is an anti-terrorist organization, we stop terrorists from setting off bombs, saving hostages and arresting or neutralizing terrorist. Skylar and I make the world a safer place by what we do.” 

Skylar looked over at Alex, a small, proud smile spreading across her face, but that smile didn’t last long. 

“Neutralize? As in kill.” 

“Yes Valary I’ve killed people, Alex has killed people. Who happened to want to kill us too.” 

“Will you two knock it off.” Her dad looked over at them with an annoyed look on his face. “Valary your sister is only here for the week, could you please act civil?” 

“Fine.” 

“Thank you.” He shook his head and went back to helping with the food. 

Alex grabbed her hand, gently squeezing it. Making sure she was okay. She looked over at him with a small smile, indicating she was. That’s when she got an idea. “Mom, how long until we eat?” 

“About twenty minutes.” 

“Okay.” She got up from her chair, and looked down at Alex. “Come on, I want to show you something.” 

“Okay, kotyonok!” 

He got up and followed Skylar. They headed upstairs, on the wall leading up the stairs he glanced at the pictures. Most of them were when Valary, Chloe and Skylar were little, some more recent. When he got to the top of the stairs he saw a purple bedroom door with Skylar’s name on it. 

“I take it you’re showing me your old bedroom, kotyonok?” 

“Yes.” She stopped and turned to him. “It hasn’t changed since I left for the marines. And I wanted to get away from my sister for the time being.” 

“Is she always like that?” 

“Only when my work is brought up. She hated that I joined and has tried everything she can to make me retire. Hasn’t worked in her favor. But seeing you call her out on her bullshit was nice to see.” 

She turned around, opening her door to her old childhood bedroom. It brought back so many memories. The nights sitting at her desk doing homework or drawing, watching movies with friends and all the time her and her ex spent in here. It was a bit bittersweet. 

“I should’ve known your bedroom would’ve been purple.” He chuckled. “That must be annoying, and no one disrespects you in front of me, I don’t care who they are. What about your other sister? Was she happy you joined?” 

“Of course, purple is my favorite color.” She sat down on the bed, Alex following suit. “I should’ve told you about that, how Valary hates me being in the military. But Chloe had her concerns in the beginning, like my parents’ did. Now she’s fine with it.” 

Alex looked around her room, seeing a few posters hanging up on the wall and on the window seat a bunch of stuffed animals. “If you didn’t feel comfortable telling me, that’s fine, I'm not going to force you to tell me something. That is something she’s going to have to deal with, it’s not your problem, kotyonok.” 

“I know you wouldn’t, maybe I just thought it would be different this time. And that’s true, it is her problem.” She looked over at the window seat, a small smile began to spread across her face. “I used to spend so much time sitting on that window seat, looking out the window while I drew. Music going on in the background.” 

“Simplistic. Sounds just like my kotyonok!” He leaned over, placing a passionate kiss upon her lips, hands traveling down her body. 

Skylar smiled into the kiss and giggled. “We shouldn’t, but..” She broke the kiss, walking over to the bedroom door, closing it and locking it. “A quickie wouldn’t hurt. Plus it’s a turn on, you fucking me in my old bedroom with my parents’, sister and brother-in-law all downstairs.” 

Alex stood up, walking over to her. His hand found the button to her jeans, easily undoing it, then he found the metal tag of the zipper and pulled it down. He spun her around, bending her over her desk as he yanked her pants and underwear down to her ankles. 

She looked over her shoulder, seeing him undo his pants and pulling them down far enough to get as his groin. When his cock sprang free from its restraints, she licked her lips at how hard he already was, and the slight ache between her legs grew. 

He grabbed her hip, sinking himself into her with a slow thrust of his hips. Both of them moaning as he bottomed out. 

He grabbed both of her hips, beginning a slow and sensual pace. Skylar leaned her forehead down on her arm, her free hand grabbing the edge of the desk. She didn’t want to be too loud, but the harder Alex was pounding into her, the harder it was. 

His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her up against his chest. Her hand grabbed onto his thigh while the other onto the arm that was wrapped around her waist. He leaned down, nipping at her ear. “You feel so good, kotyonok!” 

“Oh I’m gonna come.” 

His hand traveled down between her legs, and he whispered in her ear. “Then come for me my kotyonok.” 

And just like that her legs began to tremble and she let out a cry as her walls clenched around his cock. Alex, holding her in a firm grasp as she rode hers out. 

A few thrusts later, he stilled and came with a groan. Skylar stopped shaking and her breathing was labored, she steadied herself against the desk as Alex pulled out. She leaned down, pulling up and buttoned her pants again, then turned around to look at him with a satisfied smile. 

“That was amazing, moi sladik!” 

“It was, kotyonok!” He tucked himself back into his pants and leaned down, giving her a few tame kisses. “We should head down soon.” 

“We still have a little bit of time, and I want to go down stairs looking the least disheveled.” 

She walked back over to the bed and sat down, Alex following right behind her. He sat down next to her, hand on her thigh. She liked how he always needed to be touching her, whether it was his leg right against hers, his arm around her shoulders or a hand on the thigh, it felt nice. Nice that someone actually wanted her so badly. It seemed like a fairy tale. 

“I’m not sure if all the sex we’re having is good or bad.” Skylar laughed and looked over at him. “Like I feel I’m gonna have withdrawals when it’s that time of the month again.” 

“Kotyonok, it’ll only be for a week tops. Then we can get back to the fun. And don’t hesitate on asking me for anything, chocolate, a blanket, a hot water bottle, whatever you want, I’ll get it for you.” 

She moved over to him, linking their arms together and resting her head on his arm. “I know you will. Sometimes they can get really bad, that I get laid out for the week. It’s not fun when we have to work. I should also warn you that I get major baby fever.” 

“Then I’ll make sure my kotyonok is a comfortable as she can be.” He raised his brow, a small smirk spreading across his face. “Baby fever hmm?” 

“Good! Yes, it’s not my fault, it's all the hormones.” 

Alex laughed, and kissed her head. “Don’t worry kotyonok, I’ll give you that child soon.” 

She turned her head to look up at him, eyes sparkling and she had a gleeful look on her face. “Really? How soon?” 

“Whenever the time is right.” 

“That’s rude.” She unlinked their arms and stood up. “We should probably head down.” 

She started to walk away, only she was stopped when Alex grabbed her hand, pulling her into a firm kiss. Seconds later he broke it, looking down at her. “You know I would give you that child in a heartbeat, kotyonok. But only when you are fully ready for it.” 

“I know, maybe just talking about it so much has made me a little bit more baby fever-ish.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a peck on the lips. “I just can’t wait until we bring the first little Senaviev into this world. But there’s still stuff we need to talk about before that happens.” 

“Like what?” 

“Later, when we’re back at my place.” 

Alex nodded and she let go of him, grabbing his hand and lead him back downstairs. They took their seats at the kitchen table, the smell of belgian waffles, bacon and eggs filled the room, forcing a grumble from Skylar’s stomach. 

Alex turned to her with a raised brow and amused look on his face. “Hungry kotyonok?” 

“Yes.” 

“It’ll be ready in a minute Sky.” said her dad. 

The sound of the front door opening interrupted everyone’s conversation, then that all too familiar voice was heard. 

“Where’s me little sis?” Chloe rounded the corner, spotting Skylar automatically. She wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. “I’ve missed you.” 

“I’ve missed you too Chloe.” 

Chloe let her go and looked over at Alex. “And you must be the boyfriend? Alex is your name, right?” 

“Da, I am and it is.” 

Chloe chuckled at how blunt he was and held her hand out. “Nice to meet you, I’m glad someone can handle my obnoxious little sister.” 

He shook her hand and glanced over at Skylar. “Nice to meet you too and I don’t think she’s obnoxious.” 

“Hmm, give it time.” She turned over to the man behind her, and with one look Alex could tell he was a businessman of some sort, they all carried themselves the same way. “And this is my fiance Jackson.” 

Skylar watched Jackson fiddled with his hands before shaking Alex’s hand that he held out. She could already tell Jackson was intimidated by Alex, it made her laugh. She wondered if it was because he was military just like her or was it because he was Russian? Or maybe it was the fact he was a lot more burly than everyone here. Either way it was still funny. 

Chloe took a seat next to Skylar and Jackson the seat in between Chloe and Valary. As Skylar looked around the table, seeing everyone with their significant other, she couldn’t help the small smile spread across her face. The family was all together! 

After they all got a plate and sat back down, Skylar grabbed some strawberries and powdered sugar, adding them onto her waffles. Things were quiet as everyone ate, but Skylar could see the glances from Valary, making her quite annoyed. 

“Mom do you think you could bake some more cookies before we leave for Russia? You have a new fan of your baking.” She smirked and glanced over at Alex. 

“I can do that, and I do?” She looked over at Alex as he finished chewing. 

“They’re delicious, best cookie I ever had in all honesty.” 

“The best? Well that means a lot, thank you Alex!” 

“You’re welcome Sarah!” 

Skylar tried to hide the big grin that started to spread across her face, seeing Alex kind of kiss up to her parents’ was funny, cute and heartfelt. She loved seeing him try to win them over. 

She glanced over at Valary to see her roll her eyes over the small conversation between Alex and their mom. She put her fork down on her plate and looked over at her. “Valary can I talk to you, privately?” 

“Can it wait? I don’t want my waffles to get cold?” 

She grabbed her fork again, fiddling with her eggs. “Fine.” 

Chloe glanced between Skylar and Valary, sensing the tension between them. “So Sky, I would love to hear about how you two started this blossoming romance.” 

Skylar whined and gently tossed her fork on her plate, hearing the metal clank against the class plate. “Okay fine and since you’re all here I won’t have to repeat myself. It started during the holiday party where we did shots and then snuck away. We fooled around in the snow and eventually made it to his room. I woke up in the middle of the night, kinda freaked over it, left and then avoided him for two days. When Ash and I were going shopping, I kinda ran into him and Thermite in the hallway and later that I told him the truth and the morning after we were together. That’s pretty much sums it up.” 

“Wow.” Chloe shook her head. “Well there’s a story to tell your future kids. Mommy was an idiot and avoided your father for a few days because I freaked out after we had sex.” 

She retrieved her fork from her plate, taking a bite of her eggs. “I’m never gonna live this down.” 

“No you’re not.” Chloe chuckled and took another bite of her waffle. 

“Yay.” She rolled her eyes and chuckled all the same. “It is a good story to tell our future kids though. When they’re old enough to understand.” She glared over at Chloe, seeing the confused look on her face. 

“What?” 

“Oh c’mon you know you would mention that story by the time that child is like two.”

“It’s not like they’re gonna remember Skylar.” She glanced between her and Alex, then took a sip of her water. “Wait? You said our kids, does that mean you guys plan on it? I know you’re an adult and can choose for yourself but isn’t it kind of early in the relationship to be talking about that?” 

“For a lot of people, yes it would. For us, no. So far we’ve talked about marriage, a family, we want both someday. Whether it be a year or five from now. We put our lives on the line every time we have a mission, and what if one of us dies and we’re stuck living with the what ifs? We don’t want that, yet there’s still a lot we need to discuss before we even decided to bring a child into this world.” 

“That also shows you both are serious about the relationship. But when you get married, I call dibs on being maid of honor.” 

Skylar looked down at her lap, avoiding eye contact with her. “Yeah about that..” 

“You already chose someone? Who? And why?” 

“Uhm Ash. Because she’s my best friend?” She didn’t like the look she was getting from Chloe, so she set her fork down on her plate and slide over to sit on Alex’s lap. “I don’t like the look you’re giving me.” 

Chloe snorted seeing Skylar sitting on Alex’s lap like a little child. “You could probably kill me with your pinky finger yet you climb onto your boyfriends lap for protection from someone who can’t even open a jar.” 

“I could, I just don’t trust you and mom and dad wouldn’t be too happy if I did.” 

“Good point. Now are you gonna sit and eat or are you just gonna sit on his lap for the rest of brunch?” 

“Maybe both.” She got off his lap and went back to her seat, hearing a small whine of disapproval from Alex. It made her chuckled and patted his thigh a few times. 

The rest of brunch went well, everyone was talking about the past five months and what had happened since Skylar left so she could get caught up and vice versa. Well the stuff Skylar could tell them about, mission stuff was classified. 

Eventually everyone moved to the living room, leaving a pile of dishes in the sink. While everyone talked Skylar and Valary made their way upstairs for their little chat that Skylar was dreading to have. They went into the first room they saw which happened to be Valary’s old room, how convenient. 

As they entered the room, Skylar shut the door behind them for more privacy while Valary sat down on the bed. 

“I know you don’t like him.” She crossed her arms and leaned against the desk in her room. 

“Your much older boyfriend? No I don’t.” 

“You don’t even know him.” Skylar scoffed and shook her head. “Why don’t you like him? That’s what I want to know.” 

“He’s way too old for you Skylar, you couldn’t have chosen someone younger? And I guarantee he’s not in the relationship for what he says he is.” 

“I don’t care about his age and neither does mom and dad, they know Alex cares for me.” She let her arms fall to her side, grabbing onto the edge of the desk. “And what is that supposed to mean? No, wait, you probably think he’s only in it for the sex. You’re wrong.” 

“Does he actually care for you? Or is he playing you? Oh we’ll see about that.” 

“Yes. He. Does. God compared to the last guy, Alex treats me like a queen. He’s always there for me, never pushing me to do something I don’t want to do.” She pushed herself off the desk, heading for the door. “I love him Valary, and I do plan on marrying him and having his children in the future, so you better get used to him being around.” 

Skylar left the room and headed back downstairs where everyone was. Walking into the living room she sat down next to Alex, bringing her knees up to her chest and sighed. She wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her head on her knees. 

Alex looked over at her, eyes softening. He placed his hand on her back, gently rubbing up and down in a soothing manner. “Kotyonok, are you okay?” 

She turned her head to look at him, but she didn’t answer him, just shook her head. 

He moved closer to her, leaning down to place a few tame kisses on her neck. “Does it have to do with the talk you and your sister had?” 

“Yes, I just want to go home now.” She lifted her head and let go of her legs, sighing. 

“We can if you want? I do not mind, all I care about is you feeling better.”

“Okay, I think getting away from Valary is for the best.” She stood up, glancing over at everyone else. “We’re heading out.” 

“Why?” Chloe whined. 

“Let’s just say I don’t want to be around our sister right now. I think it’s best I leave before things get really out of hand.” 

“Figures she would start something and I’m sure I know what it’s about.” She stood up and hugged Skylar goodbye. “I’m not working tomorrow, why don’t we spend a few hours together tomorrow? Just the two of us.” 

Skylar let her go, giving her a warm smile. “I think I’d like that.” She turned to Alex, her smile growing. “Will you be okay being by yourself for a few hours, moi sladik?” 

“Yes kotyonok, I’ll be fine.” He shot her a glare, only to chuckle nonetheless. 

“If he doesn’t want to spend it alone at your place he’s more than welcome to help me tomorrow. I have shipment coming in and two people will get it done faster than one. It’s up to him if he wants too.” said Carl

Alex stood up, placing his hand on the small of Skylar’s back and looked over at him. “I wouldn’t mind, gives me something to do while she’s gone.” 

Skylar turned to him, raising her brow. “You said you would be fine with me being gone.” 

“I did and I will be fine. Going with Carl will just give me something to do rather than look for a new LMG.” 

Her mouth fell open, looking at him like he just told her the most magnificent thing in the world. “You don't want to look for a new LMG? Alex are you feeling okay?” 

“I’m feeling fine kotyonok. There hasn’t been any new ones lately, I’ll wait a few days.” 

Skylar nodded her head, then turned back to Chloe. “Text me later with the plans.” 

“I will.” 

After they all said their goodbyes Skylar and Alex left the house. Once they got into the car Skylar let the door close by itself and sighed, gripping the steering wheel to make her knuckles white. 

“Tell me what she said, kotyonok.” He placed his hand on her cheek, moving so she was looking at him. “It’s clearly bothering you, just tell me.” 

“She thinks you’re in it for the sex and nothing else.” 

“You know that’s not true Skylar, you know that I love you.” His hand fell from her face, gently grabbing her hand. 

“I know, I know.” She gave him a small smile. “It still hurt though, I found someone who’s actually good and it means nothing to her.” 

“Come here.” He brought her head to his chest in a bear like hug, rubbing up and down her back. “Don’t worry about this now kotyonok. She’ll just have to get used to me being around.” 

She chuckled and looked up at him through hooded eyes. “I told her that and I told her that I loved you and plan on being married and having your kids someday.” 

He gave her a passionate kiss before letting her go. “I’m sure she was happy to hear that.” He chuckled. 

“I don’t know, I left before she could give an answer. Probably not though.” She pulled away, starting the car. “At least Chloe likes you. Jackson on the other hand is completely intimidated by you, which is funny.” 

“Don’t you find it ironic your sister is gonna marry a guy who’s name is your last name?” He chuckled. “I noticed that too, he seemed to ease up a bit during brunch.”

“Yeah, there was an ongoing joke when they first got together. It died down now, unfortunately.” She put the car in drive and headed out. “That’s good, but it would be funny to see him be afraid of you for no reason other than you’re burly.” 

All Alex did was laugh and intertwined their hands together. 

xXx

Back at Skylar’s place they ended up lying on the couch under a big blanket, watching a movie and eating the rest of her mom’s cookies. Her leg was over his lap and head resting on his chest. Her couch wasn’t big enough for two people to be lying on it, but they made due. 

During the movie Alex would leave a few kisses on the top of her head and forehead, and rubbed his hand up and down her arm, like he was still trying to make her feel better from the argument she had with her sister. But there was still one thing on his mind, and that was what she meant when she said they still needed to talk about some more things before any children came into the picture. 

“Kotyonok?” He sat up slightly, moving her up with him. 

She looked up at him through hooded eyes. “Yeah?” 

“What did you mean about we had more stuff to discuss before we have kids?” 

He sat up, resting his back on the arm of the couch as she sat up, making sure the blanket was still covering them she grabbed his hand, holding it between hers. This wasn’t even a conversation she should be nervous about, yet she was. 

“A few things. One would be where do we want to raise our family. Our work base is in England, I’m from the U.S and you’re from Russia. Do we just stay in Hereford or nearby and visit between the other two countries. Or do we live somewhere else?” 

Alex started to contemplate her question. Truthfully he never even thought about that, home has always been a military base to him and that’s no way to raise a family. But there was still a part of him that wanted to raise his family back in Saint Petersburg. 

“I never thought about that. Wouldn’t the smart thing to do would be to stay in Hereford? And split our time between there and our native countries?” 

“That’s what I was thinking, it would be easier. I also want to talk to Six to see if we can work something out where we don’t get called on a lot for missions or to at least have one of us home with the kids.” Her eyes averted to his chest, fiddling with the blanket in her hand. “I think I’m gonna retire once I find out I’m pregnant.” 

He chuckled, forcing her to look up at him with a raised brow. “I knew you would kotyonok! If you want to be a stay at home mom, you know I’ll be okay with that. I would rather have our children being with their mama than a nanny.” 

“I know you would be fine with it, in my head I feel like I’m having doubts about it. Like I’m not sure if I want to, but I know once I’m holding that child I know my decision will be the right one. I don’t know, it’s weird.” 

She chuckled again and moved over to straddle him, laying her head on his chest as his arms wrapped around her. Both of them sighing in content. 

“Kotyonok, you’re the most loving person I ever met! And I know our children will have the most loving mama in the world!” 

“That’s because I was saving all my love for a specific person named Alexsandr Senaviev!” She lifted her head off his chest and gave him a chaste kiss. “They’re also gonna have the most caring and understanding papa!”

He leaned forward, crushing their lips into a passionate kiss and he pulled her closer to him. When he broke it, he looked into her eyes with nothing but love and admiration that sent a wave of bliss through Skylar’s body. 

“I’m never going to take your love for granted, I’m never going to take you for granted! I will always be here for you kotyonok, through thick and thin.” He wrapped her in a bear hug, nuzzling his face in her hair. “Ya lyublyu tebya vsem serdtsem!” 

Her bottom lip began to quiver and tears started to well in her eyes. For the majority of her dating life, her love was taken for granted by men who only wanted one thing from her. It made her guarded and she was afraid to show how much she could love someone because she knew it would never be returned. 

She never understood why she attracted a certain type of person, the ones who acted like they truly cared only to show their true intentions week into the relationship. Now to hear Alex say those made her feel so emotional. 

She pulled away from him, wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand and softly laughed. “Thank you moi sladik! I-I needed to hear that.” 

“You’re welcome kotyonok!” He gave her another chaste kiss and moved a strand of hair behind her ear. “I know right now our relationship is nearly perfect, and the longer we’re together, the more things will change. There will be days where we argue and fight and I just want you to know, no matter how bad it gets I will never stop fighting to keep us together.” 

The tears quickly came back and Skylar threw her hands around his neck and began to sob. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, rubbing up and down her back and gently swaying her. He closed his eyes, trying to fight his own tears that welled in his eyes. Seeing her upset will never be something he’ll get used to, but seeing her completely break down was horrific. It made him want to find every single person that hurt her and show them why that was the wrong choice. 

It might seem hypocritical since he knows he’ll hurt her eventually. It’s inevitable, but he’ll do whatever he can to fix it because Skylar has given him the one thing he thought he had lost. A family! 

Skylar started to calm down a bit, her sobs became more of sniffles and she stayed where she was. Safe in his arms. Truthfully she felt a little embarrassed to look at him now, after breaking down over something like that. 

“I never told you this kotyonok, after you joined Rainbow I went to Six to see if I could mentor you instead of Thatcher. She said no.” 

She laughed and pulled away, wiping the tears from her eyes. “You did?” 

“Da, it was the perfect opportunity to get close to you. It didn’t work out in my favor.” He gently grabbed her hips, holding them as he maneuvered them into a lying down position that was comfortable for the both of them. 

“That would have been nice if you were my mentor, I wonder why Six said no?” She sniffled and wiped some more tears from her eyes. 

“She said you were already used to Thatcher and giving you to someone else would make it more difficult.” He scoffed and mumbled something in Russian under his breath. She couldn’t tell what he said but by the sound of his voice it was most likely a bunch of swears. 

“I think she knew your true intentions moi sladik.” She laughed. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about kotyonok. My intentions were always good.” He slid his hand under the band of her pants and grabbed her ass, hearing her gasp in response. 

“Sure they were.” She rolled her eyes and laugh. “Are you going to keep your hand in my pants?” 

“Da.” He looked down at her, with a raised brow. “Do you want me to remove it?” 

“Only for a moment, I need to do something.” 

He removed his hand and Skylar got up off the couch. She unbuttoned her pants, sliding them down her legs as she took them off, only leaving her shirt and underwear on. Climbing back onto the couch to her original position, Alex placed his hand right back where it was. 

Her hand trickled down his torso, with one hand she unbuttoned his jeans, grabbing the metal tag and pulled it down. She cupped his bulge, giving it a gentle squeeze to hear a soft moan escaped his lips. He moved his hand that rested on her ass between her legs. She angled her leg to give him more room as she freed his cock from his boxers. 

“The kotyonok is getting frisky I see.” 

“Maybe.” She gave him a few long strokes. “Or maybe I just really want to give you a hand job right now.”

Skylar’s phone rang before she could continue on, forcing a groan from both their mouths. Alex leaned over and handed her her phone, looking down at the caller ID she saw it was Chloe. 

“Hey.” She removed her hand from his shaft and tapped her fingers on his chest, rolling her eyes. 

“Hey, I just had a little conversation with our sister and she’s very upset with you.” She heard Chloe chuckle from the other end of the line. “It’s pretty funny, I don’t understand why she’s so butt-hurt over you and Alex. I just met him and I can already tell how much he loves you.” 

“Hold on let me put you on speaker.” She sat up, as did he, tucking himself back into his boxers at most. Then she switched to speaker phone. “Okay. I have a question: do you know why her and Evan are having marital problems? I have my theory, but she’s always been closer with her so.” 

“It’s about kids, Valary doesn’t want them anymore and Evan does. They’ve been going in circles for a while now.” 

“I knew it, I wonder why she changed her mind?” 

“That I don’t know, I do know it was a pretty abrupt decision she made.” 

“Abrupt? That’s not like Val.” 

“It’s not, but that’s all I know. On the other hand I’m sure you’ll make me an aunt way before Val does if she ever changes her mind again.” 

“Yes I will.” She looked over at Alex with a cheesy grin on her face, making him laugh. “And I’m sure they’re gonna get spoiled by auntie Chloe.”

“Well of course, what are aunts for?” Chloe laughed. “What time should I pick you up tomorrow?” 

“I don’t know, do I look like an aunt to you?” She chuckled. “Any time after noon is good.” 

“Oh shush and alright, I’ll call or text you when I’m on the way.” 

“Okay. Wait what are we even doing?” Alex slid his hand between her legs, grazing at her clit before plunging two fingers inside her. She bit back a gasp and shot him a dirty look. All he could do was smirk as he began pumping his fingers in and out. “Actually Chloe I’ll call you back.” 

She snorted. “Alright, I’ll talk to ya later then.” 

“Okay. Bye.” She didn’t give Chloe enough time to reply before she ended the call, tossing her phone on the ottoman before glaring at Alex with daggers in her eyes. “What the hell babe just plunge your fingers into me while I’m on the phone with my sister.”

He pulled his fingers free, grabbing her hips and yanking her down on the couch. She giggled as he leaned over her, nipping at her neck. “You were the one that started it kotyonok.” 

“I did, now are you planning on finishing it, or what?” She shot him a suggestive look, glancing down at his crotch. “You’re already hard.” 

He leaned down, kissing her hard before throwing her over his shoulder and making his way up to their room, leaving the TV on downstairs. 

xXx

Night soon came ending another day. Skylar was lying on her stomach as she waited for Alex to get out of the shower. She would’ve joined him but her legs were pretty sore and she had a hard enough time standing while taking her own, she has no clue how she’s gonna survive being out with her sister tomorrow. 

Being back home made her long for the days where her and Alex will have their own place, decorated how they want. Where they can cook and bake together, wake up and fall asleep together and eventually raise a family together. 

She hugged the pillow tighter, nuzzling her face into it, he was taking his sweet time and she was beginning to miss him. Luckily she didn’t have to wait long before he came out in just a clean pair of boxers.

He smiled over at her as he walked to the bed, sitting down beside her. “Sorry I went a little too rough kotyonok.” 

“I told you it was fine, it felt amazing anyways. My legs beg to differ.” 

“I know, I still feel bad.” 

“You don’t need too. Now come to bed please.” 

He got off the bed, pulling the covers off to get into them, then snuggled up against Skylar. She nuzzled her face into his chest and closed her eyes, letting sleep take over. He stayed up for a bit, watching her peacefully sleep in his arms. His mind kept thinking about tomorrow and how he was going to spend a few hours with her dad, giving him the perfect opportunity to ask for her hand. Now he hopes he doesn’t chicken out.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm sure you all know about the new bios by now and I just wanted to say that I won't be putting Tachanka's kids into this story because I would legit have to rewrite and rethink this three part series so they'll be in the AU version of Jade Helm. But I did find a way to at least mention his sister and nieces and nephews in this, and they might even make an appearance at some point. Anyways I hope you enjoy this very long chapter!

The next morning Skylar woke up a tad sore and definitely had a limp that was quite noticeable. She hopes she can walk it off before she leaves with her sister, not wanting to deal with that conversation. It was futile either way. 

As she made her rounds around the couch she would occasionally glance over at Alex making them breakfast in the kitchen. She couldn’t help but smile, thinking that this will be their lives everyday. Minus the limp. Waking up next to each other, cooking breakfast together, some really great sex. Just a simple kind of life, well as simple as it can be for them. 

She walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and rested her head on his back. “Can you believe this is gonna be our lives soon moi sladik?” 

Alex hummed, flipping over the draniki. “It already feels like it is kotyonok!” 

She let go of him, walking over to lean against the counter at his side. “It does. I like it.” 

“I do too, truthfully kotyonok, I just like spending my time with you.” He leaned over giving her a quick kiss before going back to the cooking. “How’s the limp?”

“A little better, I’ll just have to face the music with my sister.” She chuckled. “Maybe I should’ve stretched beforehand.” 

Alex laughed, shutting off the burner. “Or tell me to slow my pace down. Breakfast is ready.” 

“Where’s the fun in that?” She chuckled and walked over to the small kitchen table and sat down. 

She watched him make their plates, a small smile gracing her face. It wasn’t that long ago where she was cooking for herself in a one bedroom apartment in Los Angeles, living a pretty mundane life. Even for someone in SWAT, she didn’t see much action back in LA. Most of the time she was stuck behind a desk. Now her life is nothing short of action. 

He walked over with two plates in his hand, setting Skylar’s down in front of her and his on the spot next to her and sat down. “If I slowed down my pace you wouldn’t have a limp right now kotyonok.” 

“Well I didn’t want you to slow your pace down moi sladik. I like it rough.” She took a bite of her draniki. “Oh wow, that’s really good.” 

“Mmm.” He took a bite of his, watching Skylar briefly before taking another bite. “Sometimes I forget how kinky you are. You have such an innocence to you.” 

“People say it’s because I have a baby face.” 

“You do have one, kotyonok.” 

“Fair enough.” She took another bite staring off into space. “I keep having this recurring dream about you.” She turned her attention back to him, seeing the amusement etched on his face. “I feel like it’ll probably come true one day knowing you.” 

“What’s it about.” He set his fork down, keeping his full attention on her. 

“We’re in Russia and I’m home with our son while you went out to get a big surprise for him. He’s ecstatic and I’m wondering what it’s going to be. Then you walk through the door with the surprise, and it ends up being a kids size LMG.” She glared at him, then laughed. “And that’s when I usually wake up. But I do see you buying a kids size LMG for our kids to play with.” 

“They just want to be like their papa, kotyonok.” A small smile formed on his, picturing his future son with a mini version of his beloved LMG. “I would have to get it custom made.” 

“And it’s safer than the real thing.” 

“That too.” 

They went back to eating in silence, Alex couldn’t stop thinking about that dream she had, him coming home with a kid size LMG like his own for their son. He wondered what he looked like, did he have chestnut brown hair like his mama or blonde like his papa. Did he have the same colored eyes as him? Did he look like him or did he look like his mama or a mix of both parents. So many questions ran through his head. 

“What did he look like? Our son?” 

Skylar chuckled as she finished chewing her food, then grabbed her drink and took a sip. “He looked like a spitting image of his papa. Blonde hair, gorgeous big blue eyes, but I could still see myself in him as well. It felt so real.” 

“It will be real someday kotyonok.” He grabbed her hand, gently giving it a squeeze. “You and me in a nice little home in Saint Petersburg with our children.” 

She sighed and gave him a small smile. “I know it will moi sladik!” He mirrored her smile and let go of her hand. “Our lives are gonna be so chaotic once we have children, the best kind of chaos though.” 

“The kind that won’t get us killed.” 

“Like I said, the best kind.” 

Alex watched her for a moment, seeing her play with her food. But her eyes were conveying uncertainty. “You still don’t know, do you?” 

She set her fork down and pushed away from the table and stood up, walking over to the island and leaned on it, hanging her head. She hated this feeling, the feeling that something was lacking in her life and that dream keeps throwing ‘what’ right into her face and she hates it. More than the terrorists she fights. 

“I do know, and I’m not ready right now.” She looked up at him and sighed. “I just hate how that dream is making me want it so badly. I feel like it’s right in my grasps to only have it yanked away.” 

“Come here kotyonok.” 

Skylar sighed and pushed herself away from the island and walked over to him. He took her hand and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissed her temple. “It’s quite endearing you want to be a mom so badly and someday I will make you one, I promise. For now I think we should just enjoy it being us before our lives are filled with ‘the best kind of chaos’.”

“Look I know you’re right, but my brain is saying other things. I’m sure this whole severe baby fever will subside when we’re back at work.” She gave him a quick peck on the lips 

and sighed in content. “I’m just happy I can be so open with you, so I don’t have to conceal these emotions no matter how strange they may be.” 

“Being opened is a good thing kotyonok. I wouldn’t want you to hide any emotion you have, no matter how weird it may seem.” 

Her face softened and a small smile started to spread across her face. “I love you!” 

She leaned down, giving him a firm kiss on the lips. 

“I love you too!” 

Skylar got off his lap and sat back down in her seat, taking another sip of her drink. As they went back to eating she couldn’t help but think back on past lovers who weren’t so keen on her emotions and how, for the most part kept them to herself or ranted about it to a late friend. Having someone as loving and caring as Alex was a dream come true. There were some days where she still couldn’t believe he was hers. 

When breakfast was over she headed upstairs to get ready, Alex following behind her. She had no idea what she was going to wear, let alone where her and her sister were going. Though a part of her knew it would probably be to the mall or driving around like they did when she was a teenager. Talking about anything and everything. 

She walked out of her closet with a shirt in hand, tossing it on the bed before she sat down, collapsing onto her back. “I have no clue what I’m going to wear.” 

“You’ve picked out a shirt, that’s a start.” He sat up, placing his phone on the bed. “Wear whatever you want, kotyonok. It’s not like you’re going on a date, you’re just spending time with your sister.” 

“I know that silly.” She laughed. “I’m just not sure if I want to wear something baggy or form fitting, knowing you won’t be with me.” 

He narrowed his eyes, and leaned over her, his hand traveling down her torso - stopping between her legs. “That’s fine kotyonok, wear something form fitting. I’ll just think about a million different ways I could get pay back. And how to get you out of those clothes.” 

“That’s perfect, I’m gonna love knowing you’ll be thinking about getting me out of my clothes when you’re with my dad.” 

He scoffed and moved off of her, letting her sit up. “I think he knows we’re having sex, kotyonok.” 

“He does? Who told him that?” She laughed at the unamused look on his face, then leaned over placing her hand on his chest and gave him a quick kiss. “I hope you know this is what it’ll be like when we’re married.” 

Alex smiled down at her, grabbing her hips and maker her straddle him. “I can live with that.” 

“That’s good, it would be kinda bad if you couldn’t.” 

“Alright little miss sarcastic.” 

“You know you love me.” She chuckled and got off his lap, heading over to her dresser. 

“I know I do.” 

Skylar looked through her jeans trying to pick the right pair that would hug her body enough to make him lust after her throughout the whole day. Knowing he couldn’t do anything about it until later.

“Ah, here we go.” She pulled out a pair of dark wash jeans and tossed them on her bed, and shut the drawer. When she turned around she saw Alex looking them over, arching his brows. “Is there something wrong moi sladik?” 

“Not at all kotyonok.” He set the pair of pants down just in time to see her sit down next to him. “Why would something be wrong?” 

“Hmm.” She leaned closer to him with a small smirk on her face. “I don’t know, it’s just I’m gonna be wearing some really tight pants and I don’t know if you’ll be able to handle being away from me.” She leaned closer, whispering in his ear. “Knowing you won’t be able to touch me for hours.” 

Alex huffed, feeling his blood rush south. He loved and hated how well she could tease him, just enough to make his cock start to get hard and his heart racing, only to have her retract and go back to what she was doing beforehand. Leaving him hot and bothered. 

She stood up, pulling down her shorts she had on and kicked them to the side. Grabbing her pants, she glanced over at him, seeing the slight bulge in his pants and how quiet he was. She chuckled as she pulled her pants on, then leaned over to kiss him. 

“I’m really loving this affect I have on you moi sladik. Don’t worry you can have me all you want tonight.” 

“Promise kotyonok?” 

“On one occasion.” She crouched down, grabbing a small box from underneath her bed, setting it in front of him. “You use one or more of these on me tonight.” 

Alex opened the box looking in it, a smirk started to spread across his face and his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. Inside the small box was a few adult toys, some lube and a box of condoms that should most likely be expired by now. 

“Skylar, you surprise me more and more each day!” 

He fumbled through the box as she sat down, grabbing the box of condoms to look at the expiration date. “What can I say I’m a mystery waiting to be revealed. These condoms expired back in February of 2016.” She snorted and tossed them in the trash. 

“That you are, kotyonok.” He pulled out the bottle of lube, setting it on the nightstand, and went back to looking. “Wasn’t that condom pack unopened?” 

“Yup and I was living in Los Angeles at that time too. So I have no clue why I bought them to begin with. Actually, I probably bought them for the toys, I did visit a bit here and there and it’s easier to put a condom on it, than cleaning it after every use.” 

“Can we take some with us back to Russia and Hereford?” 

“No, I’m not going through customs with a dildo in my bag. I’ll buy one instead.” 

“Whatever works for you kotyonok.” 

She shook her head and stood back up to button her pants, then put on her shirt. Since it was going to be a pretty laid back day she opted to put her hair up in a ponytail. When she was done she sat back down next to him. 

“I can’t wait until we’re living in our own place. Just you and me and nobody bothering us.” 

“We should probably look for a place, you were the one who wanted to move in together after new years.” He slid the box away and moved closer to her. “I am looking forward to living with my kotyonok. It’ll be a nice change from living on base.” 

“I was going to say we can start tonight but we’re gonna be quite busy.” She chuckled. “Honestly it’s gonna be a great change moi sladik. Now I can easily avoid some people.” 

“Thermite?” 

“Yes.” She laughed. “And some others.” 

“No argument there.” He kissed her temple, and wrapped an arm around her. “It’ll be nice waking up in our own place, I can cook you breakfast before we go to the base for training. We can cook dinner together, spend the night on the couch watching movies until it’s late and if you fall asleep on the couch I can carry you to bed and tuck you in.” 

“You would tuck me in?” She looked over at him with puppy dog eyes. “That’s really sweet.” 

“No Skylar I would leave you on the couch instead of bringing you up to bed.” 

“Oh shush.” Alex laughed and her phone dinged. She reached over hoping it was her sister, upon closer glance it was not so she set it back down. “Just a notification.” 

“Of course I would tuck you in kotyonok. What kind of person do you think I am?” 

“A very attractive one that makes me feel loved and cared for.” She looked down at her hands for a brief moment, when she turned her head she locked eyes with him. 

He slid his free hand underneath her legs, easily picking her up and setting her on his lap. “I’m happy I can make my kotyonok feel that way! I would have to do some heavy soul searching if I wasn’t making you feel loved and cared for.” 

“It comes naturally to you.” She looked up at him, giving him a peck on the lips. “It’s like rooted into you, to take care of your family.” 

“I do want to take care of my family. I guess that’s another thing I inherited from my papa, the want of taking care of my own family. The family I didn’t even know I wanted or needed.”

“He raised a good man, not everyone is like that.” Before he could answer Skylar’s phone started to ring, when she picked it up she saw her sister’s caller ID on it. “Hello.”

“I’ll be there in thirty minutes, Evan is doing an oil change on my car.” 

“You do remember dad teaching us how to do our own oil changes right?” She chuckled. 

“Yes, or I could just have our brother-in-law do it for me.” 

Skylar scoffed and got off Alex’s lap to grab her shoes. “That works too. I’ll see you in thirty.” 

“Okay.” 

She laughed and hung up, tossing her phone back on her bed. 

“You’re gonna break your phone if you keep doing that kotyonok.” 

“Eh it’s warranted. Chloe will be here in thirty, and I wouldn’t doubt if my dad is right behind her.” She sat back down, putting on her boots. “Not counting Valary but I’m really happy everyone likes you. Truthfully I was terrified of you meeting them.” 

“You were terrified? Why?” 

“Deep down I knew my parents’ would love you. You’re kind, loving, protective and most importantly you care for me. There was always this deep rooted fear of what if they don’t for whatever reason.” She finished lacing up her boot and grabbed the other. “I think I’m just afraid of losing you.” 

“You’re never going to lose me, actually I think you’re stuck with me. Forever!” 

“Good. I don’t want it any other way!” She leaned over giving him a firm kiss on the lips than put on her other boot. “I’ve been thinking, my birthday is coming up ...at the end of February and I’m tired of snow and cold weather. I want to soak in the warm sun, on a beach somewhere.” She finished tying her boot and looked over at him, biting her bottom lip. “Do you want to go on a little tropical vacation?” 

“Hm, let me think. Stay back in cold, snowy Hereford or spend a few days on the beach with my future zhena. Such a hard decision.” He shot her a look and she rolled her eyes. “I choose option two. I’m not passing up the opportunity to see you in a bikini.” 

“Okay smart ass.” She stood up and stretched, feeling some of her joints crack back into place. “You’ve seen me naked Alex, a lot. So seeing me in a bikini isn’t really all that different.”

“I can marvel at you more kotyonok.” 

Skylar laughed, and held out her hand for him to take. Then she helped him up onto his feet, pulling him downstairs. 

xXx

There was a few minutes to spare before Chloe got there and Skylar was making sure she had everything she needed in her purse. Phone. Check. Wallet. Check. Other miscellaneous things. Check. Just as soon as she zipped it backup there was a knock on the door. 

Chloe walked in seeing Skylar hunched over her purse and Alex sitting beside her. A small smile spreading across her face, she loved seeing her little sister so happy...and in love. 

“You almost ready Sky?” 

“Yeah, I just need to get my jacket.” She looked around her…”That’s still upstairs. I’ll go get it.” 

Skylar left to retrieve her jacket from upstairs, leaving Chloe and Alex alone downstairs. Chloe watched her leave, waiting until she was out of earshot of them. “I don’t have long before she comes back down. I have a favor to ask of you.” 

Alex looked over at her with slight amusement and curiosity. What was this favor she wanted? “Okay, what is it?” 

“Just take care of her please! This world has put her through the meat grinder over and over again. She deserves all the happiness and love you can give her.” She glanced over to the staircase and sighed. “Skylar means the world to me and I’m happy she finally found someone who treats her right and loves her. No one has ever looked at her like the way you do, with pure love.” 

“I promise!” 

“Thank you!” 

Skylar came down the stairs seconds later, jacket in hand. “Okay I’m ready.” 

She put her jacket on, zipping it up and grabbed her purse. Alex stood up, walking her to the door. “I love you and have fun kotyonok!” 

“I love you too, moi sladik!” She leaned up giving him a kiss goodbye. “I’ll see you in a few hours and have fun working with my dad.” 

“I will, maybe I’ll get him to tell me some embarrassing stories of you.” 

She scoffed and swatted her hand at him. “Oh yay.” 

Alex laughed and kissed her forehead. “I’m just joking, now go have fun with your sister.” 

“Yeah yeah.” 

He watched them leave, sighing in content when the door shut behind them. Not knowing how long it’ll be until Carl gets there, he didn’t know what to do, so he just sat back down on the couch and scrolled through his phone, looking at all the pictures he had of Skylar. 

Being with her had opened his mind to so many possibilities, to a life he never thought he wanted. Hell he never even thought he could love someone as much as he loves Skylar. He would move mountains for her if he could, and give her the world. Skylar, his kotyonok, is such a beacon of light that helps him go through this crazy thing called life. 

xXx

Skylar and Chloe stopped at a restaurant for lunch before going to the mall. Chloe picked Chilis since it was her favorite restaurant and Skylar didn’t really care where they went, she just wanted food. After ordering their drinks they were looking over the menu, even though Skylar was on vacation she was still going to eat somewhat healthy, she’ll be back to work before she knows it. 

When she figured out what she wanted she set the menu aside and took a sip of her water. Waiting for Chloe to figure out what she was having. “I have a question: when is your wedding date? I need to know so I can get the time off.” 

Chloe set the menu down and looked over at her. “June 26th. I gave you a plus one, which I take it will be your future baby daddy?” 

“Future baby daddy.” She scoffed. “Of course he’s gonna be my plus one. Who else would I take?” 

“I don’t know, your friend Ash.” She shot Skylar a glare, reaching for her water. “Skylar I’ve seen the way you look at him and you guys have already been talking about children and marriage. He’s your future baby daddy.” 

Skylar looked down at the table, a smile spreading across her face. She looked over at her sister, seeing a small smile on hers. “Chloe, I don’t think I’ve ever loved someone as much as I love Alex. He’s everything I’ve wanted in a partner, someone who is caring, compassionate, protective. I don’t have to hide my true self from him. But at the same time I’m scared, scared of losing him.” 

As soon as Chloe was about to say something back the waiter came over, forcing the conversation to a halt. They gave their order and handed back the menus, waiting for the waiter to leave. 

“Skylar you have no idea how happy I am that you finally found someone who loves you for who you are. The way he looks at you speaks volumes, the only thing you can see etched onto his face is love. I can tell he would do anything and everything for you.” She reached her hand out, giving Skylar’s a little squeeze. “Love is scary, you give your whole heart over to someone in hopes they don’t break it. But love is also amazing, it makes you feel happy, content. To be with someone that makes you feel at home, it’s better to love than to not love at all.” 

“You know I knew you would be happy about my relationship with Alex, I was more worried about Valary.” She sighed through her nose and tapped her fingers on the table. “You’re right though, it is better to love than to not love at all. Being with him has opened my mind to so many possibilities, the possibility of being married with a family one day, to travel, to have someone who knows how to deal with the horrors of being in the military. Alex is perfect in every single way.” 

“Don’t worry about our sister, she’ll come around eventually.” She gave her a reassuring smile, that Sky mirrored. “I can still remember you playing with your dolls pretending to be their mom, and I do hope you and Alex settle down with a bunch of kids someday. You both deserve happiness and some peace away from the military life. And just be a normal family.” 

“I hope she does or family dinners are going to be very awkward.” She chuckled. “Thank you Chloe, I hope that day will come soon.” 

“You’re welcome, and I’m sure it will, with the way you two look at each other I don’t doubt you’ll be mom and dad within a year.” 

“It’ll be a little longer than a year.” She chuckled. “We still need to move in together and right now we just want to enjoy it being just us, before we add a new addition to the Senaviev family.” 

“Okay fine, two years.” 

Skylar rolled her eyes, but still smiled nonetheless. “You’re not helping with the major baby fever I have right now. And I’m so happy I’m not using the pill as a form of birth control.” 

“Skylar!” Chloe’s eyes widened and she laughed. “Are you saying you would sabotage your own birth control? What would Alex think of that?” 

“My god Chloe, no I would not. We also use condoms so, no little Senaviev’s for awhile.” She shook her head and took another sip of water. “I was saying I would probably forget to take it because my mind is clearly on something else.” 

“Like reproducing?” 

Their food arrived before Skylar could answer, so she just glared at her sister until the waiter left again. She took a bite of her sandwich, still glaring at her. As much as she is excited to have children with Alex one day, she wouldn’t go so low as to sabotage her own birth control. That’s just wrong. 

“No, not reproducing Chloe.” 

“Whatever you say Skylar.” She took a bite of her soup, glancing behind her. “Whatever you say.” 

xXx

Fifteen minutes after Skylar left, her father came and got him. And for once, he actually felt nervous. 

Now they were sitting in the warehouse waiting for the shipment to come in. It was going to be a little late because of the weather and they had a little over an hour to kill. Carl was going over some paperwork at his desk while Alex was debating on checking up on Skylar or not. He didn’t want to interrupt their time together. 

When he heard a sigh he looked over at Carl to see him setting his pen down. “A little advice, you and Skylar should never open a business. It’s not worth all the paperwork.” 

Alex scoffed and set his phone back in his pocket. “Try being in the military, there’s paperwork for everything.” 

“I don’t doubt that.” He grabbed the paperwork that sat on his desk and put it back in the filing cabinet. “I’m sure you’ve figured out I didn’t just ask you for your help. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“About Skylar?” He straightened himself up in the chair he was sitting in. “Did I do something wrong?” 

A sudden foreign fear settled into the pit of his stomach, he didn’t like that her father asked him to help him just to talk about Skylar. It sent up red flags in his head, and he hopes his worst fear doesn’t come true. 

“On the contrary, you're doing everything right.” He chuckled, then glanced down at a picture on his desk, a sudden sadness taking over his features. “Since the day she was born Skylar was always happy, always smiling. And very optimistic.” He turned his attention on Alex, a small smile spreading across his face. “When she was little if anyone was having a bad day and was in a sour mood she would walk over, pat them on the back and say it’s going to be okay. Sky has always had a big heart. Then she joined the marines.” 

Alex watched him, waiting for him to continue. He knew where this story was going, it was self explanatory for anyone who’s been in the military. You join one way and come out the other, only a few stay the same. 

“After the incident with her team something broke inside her, she was no longer that happy little girl. I can’t blame her from what she’s been through, but as a father it hurt to see her that way.” He glanced over at the photo again and sighed. “Knowing I couldn’t do anything to make it better. Then she joined the FBI and later Rainbow. I’m happy she loves what she does, it’s just…”

“You hate that it took her innocence away.” Alex interrupted. 

“Yeah.” He met his gaze, another sigh leaving his mouth. “After you and Skylar left that night, and I saw how genuinely happy she was, I did a lot of thinking.” Alex's heart started racing in his chest as Carl’s face softened. “There will come a day when you look down at your own baby girl in your arms, thinking no one will ever be good enough for her. Until someone is.” 

Alex started to figure out what he meant, shock spreading across his face. “Are you implying ...?”

“Alex, you have my blessing!” 

“Really?” He believed him, but it still didn’t seem real that he just got his blessing to marry Skylar. 

Carl laughed, sitting up a bit straighter. “It’s no secret that you love her, a lot. I could see it in your eyes every time you looked at her. And I know Skylar loves you because it’s the same look I give her mother.” He leaned back in his seat, Alex on the edge of his, listening to him like a little kid. “I don’t care that you haven’t been together long, when you know someone is right for you, you just know.” 

“I do love her, more than anything! I have before we even started dating.” He chuckled, face softening as he thought of her. “I’ve spent over twenty years in the military, going from base to base, never calling anywhere home. Eventually I joined Rainbow, not really thinking much of it. Two years later Skylar joins and I’m smitten. I fell in love with her the moment I laid eyes on her and it grew the more I got to know her.” He grabbed his phone from his pocket, looking down at his lock screen that was now a picture of him and her with a smile on his face. “I gave up on finding someone to spend the rest of my life with, truthfully I didn’t even know I wanted to be married or a father. Until Skylar! I can picture a life with her, a future. When you asked for my help yesterday I was going to ask you for your blessing today. Now I know.” 

“Whenever you get the courage to finally ask her, you won’t have to worry about me saying no.” 

“Were you nervous when you asked Sarah?” He slid his phone back into his pocket and sat back in the chair. 

“Yes and excited. Once she said yes, that was it, then you’re in for the long wedding planning.” He leaned back in his chair as well. “I’m sure the wedding planning is a bit different in Russia?” 

“It’s actually very similar, we’ve adopted some of the western traditions over the centuries. However, engagement is fairly new to us. I like the symbolism of it.” 

Carl nodded his head and sat up a bit. “It’s pretty great. I suspect you have a ring already? Considering you were going to ask me for my blessing.” 

“Da, I do. I left it at Skylar’s place, it’s not too extravagant knowing she would yell at me for it if it was.” He chuckled and shook his head. “You’ve raised her to be very humble.” 

“I may have raised her to be humble, but she loves being spoiled. Even if she says otherwise.” 

“She told me to not spend a lot of money on her because it’ll be used for more important stuff. Like our homes, vacations, future children.” He maneuvered himself a bit in the chair, and softly sighed. “I respect her opinion on being spoiled or not, at the same time I want to spoil her. She deserves it!” 

Carl laughed and leaned forward, setting both his arms on his desk. “Advice, start off small. I’m sure the reasoning is because you’re not married yet, once you are, go all out. Not all at once, she might get mad at that.” 

Alex laughed, knowing he was right. “No argument there. She yelled at me for picking the most expensive restaurant in Hereford for our first date. The night went perfect after that.” 

“She’ll get used to it after a while.” There was a honking outside that forced their attention. “Looks like the truck is finally here.” 

xXx

Once lunch was done they headed over to the mall, Chloe wanted to buy a few things for her home and Skylar wasn’t about to go crazy, knowing she would be leaving in a few days. And there wasn’t exactly a lot she could buy at IKEA. 

“It’s weird to think Alex and I will be doing this soon, decor shopping.” She chuckled and leaned against the shopping cart. “I have a feeling he’s gonna let me do all the choosing.”

“You sound annoyed by that.” She didn’t look up from the plates she was looking at, instead she kept glancing at her options. 

“A little, I know it comes from a good place, but I want his sincere input. We’re going to be living in that apartment together, I don’t want the decor to just be my aesthetic.” 

“He just wants to please his future baby mama.” She grabbed two plates and walked over to set them in the cart. “The best thing to do is to talk about it, talk about what you both like, Alex seems like the person who sincerely listens. Just talk.”

When Chloe met her gaze she saw the glare on Skylar’s face. “I’m gonna ignore that. Yeah I know, first we need to actually find a place to live. Somewhere close to base too.”

“House hunting can get tedious fast, or apartment hunting.” She began walking, Skylar following closely behind. “Don’t sweat it, I’m sure the apartment will only be temporary until you guys get married and want a house for all the little ones.” 

“Yes, but it’s also going to be home for who knows how long, I want it to feel that way. I don’t even know how many kids we’ll have, haven’t decided.” She chuckled. 

“Good point. And haven’t decided.” She scoffed, giving her the side eye. “You know you want a big family, stop lying to yourself.” 

“I may want a large family, is it practical in the line of work I have?” She shrugged. “Probably not. And Alex is up there in age, I want our children to get a few long decades with him before he bites the dust.”

“True, I never thought about that.” She stopped and turned to her, eyes softening. “You’ve really thought long and hard about this, haven’t you?”

“Well yeah. It’s not easy being the youngest by a decade, I’ll never get as much time with mom and dad as you and Valary do. I don’t want my children to go through that.”

Chloe grabbed Skylar’s arm and pulled her to the side of the aisle to get out of people’s way. Skylar watched as her eyes showed sadness and some concern, that only made her feel somewhat worse. 

“You really feel that way?” 

“I have since I was sixteen.” Her eyes averted over to a bed that was on display and sighed. “I remember just sitting in my room thinking what if they aren’t here for the important stuff. When I get married, have kids of my own. I know they’re not that old, but the feeling is still there.” 

“Oh Skylar.” Chloe took both of her hands into hers and softly smiled at her. “Mom and dad have decades left on this Earth, they will be here for when you get married, have a family of your own, and much more. They’re not gonna miss out on being grandparents.”

Skylar’s face softened and she smiled back. “I know you’re right and I know my feelings are stupid because deep down I know they will be here. For all of that.” 

“Your feelings are not stupid. It’s not easy being the younger sibling, and I’m sure it’s a lot harder for you.”

“There are some perks being the younger sibling.” She chuckled. “Some days are, it was a lot worse when I was younger. Now that I’m an adult, it’s easier, now I can drink with you guys.” 

“Oh dear.” Chloe rolled her eyes and laughed. “I remember those family parties we used to have and you were so mad about your non-alcoholic drinks.” 

“Can you blame me? I was the only minor there, while everyone else either had wine, beer or some other type of alcohol. Mom and dad didn’t let me touch any until I was eighteen.” 

“I’m pretty sure it’s because of our other relatives.”

“Probably. They would’ve flipped if they caught mom and dad giving me alcohol.” 

Chloe laughed. “Yes they would have. Now come on, I need some new art for the home.” 

Skylar shook her head and chuckled as she followed behind. 

xXx

After they unloaded all the glass bottles from the truck and set them in the warehouse, it was time to fill them. That was the easiest part of the job, not much hassle only issue is putting on the cap sometimes. As Carl filled them, Alex capped them and set them to the side. 

“What’s it like...being a father?” He capped another bottle, sliding it over to the rest. “I know once Skylar and I are married, a child will soon follow! It’s kinda enduring she wants to be a mother so badly.” 

Carl grabbed another bottle, and turned to him. “It’s the most amazing thing in the world! And the hardest. No one teaches you how to be a parent, people can give advice but it comes down to you. How you want to raise them. It’s also the most rewarding!” 

Alex nodded his head and waited for him to fill up the bottle. “Were you nervous?” 

“Wildly.” He filled the bottle up and handed it over to Alex. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more nervous than the day I became a father. Of course that nervousness subsides and you’re overwhelmed with all this love you never knew you had.” 

He nodded and capped the bottle, setting it with rest. “Skylar’s not even pregnant and I’m already nervous, and excited. She’s going to make an amazing mother someday!” 

“Normal emotions.” He chuckled. “She will make an amazing mother someday, I could easily see that when she used to babysit when she was a teen.” 

“She baby sat? She never told me that.” 

Carl grabbed one of the stools nearby and sat down, forgetting about the rest of the bottle for the time being. “It was our neighbors kid. She babysat that little guy from the age of three months to almost two years old. She was very attentive, nurturing, wanted to do everything on her own. In the two years she babysat, that child did not cry once.” 

“Not once?” 

“Nope, she knew his schedule like the back of her hand. Knew when he needed to be fed, burped, when to put him down for a nap. It’s a rare talent.” 

“Wow!” He took his phone out of his pocket and placed it on the table. “When we were at the warehouse getting supplies for work and I saw her with Grace, it was so natural for her. There was no shyness or awkwardness from either of them.” 

“Children always seemed to gravitate to her, no matter where she was if a child was there he or she would soon end up talking with Sky eventually.” 

Alex laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “This whole talking about Skylar being an amazing mother someday isn’t helping with holding off on kids. I’m just happy that she's not here to hear us talking about it.” 

“Hey you started it.” Carl chuckled. “Honestly Alex, I wouldn’t complain if I became a grandfather soon.” 

“Let us move into our own place first, than Skylar and I will talk about making you a grandfather.” 

“Fair enough.” He grabbed the bottle again, moving over to fill it, and handed it back to him. “The only thing I won’t like when you guys do have kids, is living so far away.” 

Alex grabbed the bottle, along with a cap and capped it. “I’m sure you’ll get a lot of pictures and videos. The door is always open, come stay with us whenever you want.” He slid the bottle next to the rest, hearing it clank upon impact of one of the others. “I’m positive we’ll be visiting a lot anyways. Skylar said she’ll retire once she finds out she is pregnant.” 

“I’m sure she would, being away from her kids would kill her.” He finished filling up another bottle and handed it over to him. “I’ll remember that. By the sounds of it, you’ll stay in Hereford and split your time between there, along with Maine and Russia?” 

“Da. Skylar is very adamant on our children knowing their heritage.” 

“You sound unsure about that.” He set the bottle in his hand down and sat on one of the stools across from him. “Wouldn’t you like for them to know more about their Russian heritage?” 

“Of course, I want them to be proud from where they come from.” He tapped his fingers on the counter, and sighed. “Even when some of our history is bad.” 

“The United States isn't perfect either. Having our children know about the history from where they come from, the good, the bad, it’ll help them make the world a better place for their kids and on and on it goes. The best thing to do is to talk with them about it, tell them why it’s bad and what can be done to change it.” 

Alex nodded his head, he was getting more advice from a man he only met a few days ago than he did from his own father, he could blame his upbringing for that. Carl on the other hand was very laid back, wanting to give his kids everything he could. And deep down that’s what Alex wants to do, to spoil them, make them have a better life than he had. And of course, spoil Skylar. 

“How’d you do it? Raise your children to be humble, and also spoil them to a point. I grew up in a strict military household, not having much. I don’t want my kids growing up like that, I want to spoil them, I just don’t want them being…”

“Spoiled brats.” finished Carl. Alex nodded and laughed. “Reward them. If they did something good like got good grades, scored a goal in a game, or finally accomplish a long time goal. That’s what I did, and of course we went all out on birthdays and holidays. It’s also important to make sure those rewards aren’t too expensive, I wasn’t about to buy my daughter a new computer because she got an A on a test.” He chuckled. “I kept it at most twenty-five dollars. Some toys and stuffed animals are very expensive. But the most important part is making sure they know not everyone is lucky enough like they are. And that it’s good to give back. I’ve lost count how many times Skylar either wanted to donate or volunteer somewhere instead of getting herself something.” 

“That’s smart, it teaches them to be humble and to do good. It also puts a lot of perspective on Skylar’s love for her job, she’s always wanted to do good and she can with Rainbow.” 

“She does and I’m proud of her, more so than she will ever know!” 

xXx

After stopping at yet another store Skylar was just happy to be back home, but she didn’t like that Alex wasn’t back yet and she misses him. So after she put her stuff away she decided to head over to the warehouse, wondering what exactly they were doing. Then again it wouldn’t be unheard of if her dad got a big shipment in. 

Pulling into the driveway she saw her dad’s car parked there, she parked next to it and got out. As she walked towards the entrance she couldn’t help but smile, this warehouse homes so many memories, good and bad. When she got to the door, she heard them talking inside, about how her dad started the business. 

The door dinged when she opened it to walk in, heading towards the back. 

Alex noticed her first, his face lit up as soon as he saw her. “Kotyonok!” 

“Hi!” She laughed and walked over to give, giving him a quick kiss before sitting down next to him. “I thought you two would be done by now?” 

“Big shipment, I need to replenish a lot of stock because of the holidays.” He shot her a knowing look. “Are you upset that I’m keeping your boyfriend longer than expected?” 

“Maybe.” She kept a neutral face and shrugged her shoulders. “I just spent over an hour in IKEA with Chloe, how do you think I feel?” 

“I’m sorry you can have him back now.” He rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Did you get anything?” 

“I did, a new journal for drawing and a stuffed shark.” She laughed at the strange look Alex was giving her. “What? It was cute.” 

“I didn’t say it was bad, I just didn’t picture you buying stuffed animals at twenty-four.” 

“Well I do and I might take my new shark friend back with us.” She linked their arms together and rested her head on his arm. “He can help us move in together.” 

Alex let out a booming laugh that echoed through the warehouse and kissed the top of her head. Even after everything she’s been through he loved that she can still be childish to a point and not take things too seriously. 

“He will be a very big help kotyonok.” 

She looked up at him and narrowed her hazel eyes. “I take back what I said earlier...about tonight.” 

“No! Kotyonok I didn’t mean it in a bad way.” He looked down at her in shock and distress, that made her chuckle. 

“I’m joking I just love making you freak out.” She let go of his arm and stretched. “Ready to go back?” 

“If you are, than I am too.” 

Skylar nodded and stood up, followed by Alex. “We’re leaving, will you be alright with the rest or are you done?” 

“We were done for now, I think we did half the shipment I’ll get Evan to help with the rest tomorrow.” 

She snorted. “I’m sure he’ll love that...actually with the whole marital problems he probably will.” 

“Skylar.”

“What? You know Valary just as well as I do and you know she can get very bitchy when things go south.” 

“No argument there.” 

“Told you. We’ll stop by tomorrow or the day after.”

“Alright. I love you, and thanks for helping Alex!” 

“I love you too!” She looked over at Alex, a small smile creeping up on her face. She liked how close he was getting with her parents’ and for right now it seems like everyone is getting along. Which was the best she could hope for. 

“You’re welcome! Next time we’re here, I'll help you with the vodka problem.” 

“I would really appreciate that, thanks.” 

xXx

Skylar could sense something had changed in Alex since they got into the car, he was a lot more happy. She didn’t consider it a bad thing, just a little strange, it made her wonder what they talked about. And now that they were back at her apartment he was exceptionally happy. 

“Okay.” She angled herself to look at him better, and raised a brow. “You’ve been exceptionally happy ever since we left the warehouse, what did you and my dad talk about that would make you so happy?” 

“A lot of things kotyonok.” He leaned down, giving her a chaste kiss. “He told me you babysat when you were younger, and I asked him for advice on something.” 

“On what?” She snuggled up against him again, moving the blanket that covered them a little higher on her body. 

“You know I had a strict upbringing, without much. I don’t want our children to live like that, I asked him what he did to raise you and your sisters’ that made you turn out humbled, but you were also spoiled to a point.” 

“He told you about the reward system he did.” She looked up to see him nod his head. “Moi sladik, I know you had a rough upbringing but that doesn’t mean you’re gonna be the same to our kids. You are already fun and loving and you take a great deal to just enjoy life, that’s one of the best things our children can ask for. A father who would rather spend time doing activities with his kids, than sitting in front of the television all day. Besides you already want to spoil me, I’m sure you’ll be the same with our kids.”

“He did tell me about the reward system he did, I thought that was a good idea. Maybe we can do that with our kids?” His arm that was wrapped around her shoulders started to caress her arm. “Thank you kotyonok, I really appreciate that! We don’t want them to be too spoiled, they don’t need to be brats.” 

She swung her leg over his lap and straddled him, then laid back down on his chest. His arms came to wrap around her body in a firm grip, and he kissed her forehead. As much as he loves having a few weeks off, he hated how fast the days were flying by, all he wanted to do was spend the rest of his time off in her arms or vice versa - forgetting about work priorities that would soon resurface. 

“It’s the truth moi sladik, you could’ve grown up to be exactly like your father but you didn’t. You decided things should be different for you, that you were going to enjoy life no matter the cost. However we spoil our children they will never be brats, we’ll raise them with love and laughter and make sure that sometimes materialistic things aren’t that important.” She looked up at him, giving him a more passionate kiss. “I think we should do that reward system my parents did, it’ll be fun to see what they want to do.” 

Alex placed his thumb in the dip of her chin, gently pulling her closer to him to place another passionate kiss upon her lips. “You are going to make one amazingly loving mama to my children someday kotyonok!” 

“And you are going to make an amazingly loving papa to mine someday!” 

Skylar crushed their lips together again, this time deepening it, when she pulled away, she saw a sparkle in his blue eyes. 

“I love you!”

“I love you more!” 

“I love you more kotyonok!” 

“I love you too pluto and back moi sladik!” She sat up, trickling her fingers down his bare torso. 

Alex sat up, grabbing her hips and pulling her closer to him. “I love you all the way to the Andromeda galaxy and back kotyonok!” 

Her mouth fell open and brows narrowed. “I can’t beat that, wait, what's the next galaxy after that?” 

“I don’t know. You don’t have to beat it, I know how much you love me.” 

“Good!” She crushed their lips together once again. “Now, why don’t we get our night started?” 

Skylar shot him a suggestive look and rolled onto her back. 

xXx

“I don’t think I’ll be able to walk ever again.” Skylar looked up at the ceiling as she tried to even out her breathing. The past hour and a half she had more orgasms than she ever had and every time she thought she couldn’t anymore, she proved herself wrong. “I can’t be that deprived of orgasms, I’ve been sleeping with you for the past two weeks now.” 

“Da, we’ve sleeping together for the past two weeks.” He turned on his side, propping himself up on his elbow. “We’ve both had a long dry spell before we got together kotyonok.” 

She looked up at him and turned on her side. “I know, but still this was ridiculous I never expected to have so many in such a short amount of time.”   
“We can take a short break if you want? I don’t want to overstimulate my kotyonok too much.” 

He leaned forward giving her a chaste kiss. The past hour and a half was his second favorite thing of the day. The first was getting her father’s blessing to ask for her hand, which puts him in a very good mood. 

“I think that’s a good idea, at least for a few days.” She moved the covers from under her and got under them. “Now I think I would rather cuddle with my wonderful boyfriend!” 

Alex laughed and joined her under the covers where she quickly snuggled up against him, head resting on his chest. His hand came up to play with her hair, forcing a content hum from her. 

“Moi sladik, are you having a good time?” 

“I’m having a very good time! Why do you ask kotyonok?” 

“Just wondering, Bangor isn’t that fun during winter that’s all.” 

“Da, it’s nice to see the town you grew up in, but Skylar I’m here for you and only you!” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. 

“And to meet my family!” She chuckled.

“That too!” Skylar went quiet for a moment, staring off into space, it made him a little worried. “Kotyonok? Are you okay?” 

She snapped out of it and shook her head. “Yeah, sorry I was just thinking about something.” 

“Like what?” 

“You! Don’t worry it was good.” She maneuvered herself so she was laying across his chest and gave him a small smile. “I was just thinking about us having our first night in our own place. I can’t wait!.”

“Mmm.” He nodded. “Neither can I, it is going to be so nice waking up in our own place instead of on base.” 

“That rhymed.” She laughed. 

Alex smiled, moving a few strands of hair behind her ear. “I’m still wrapping my head around you wanting me! Why would a beautiful young women want someone like me?” 

“You’re kind, funny, affectionate, and very very loving! Not to mention very attractive. I want you because you make me feel happy and loved and cared for. I will never have to question what you want or how you feel and I love that clarity. I want you Alex, all of you from now until...forever!” She leaned forward, giving him a quick kiss. “Now who’s the uncertain one?” 

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up his chest more. “I will admit I do feel a little uncertain about us from time to time. I just have a feeling deep in the pit of my stomach that won’t go away.” 

“Why don’t you tell me about it? Maybe that will help.” She smiled up at him and kissed his nose. 

“You’re young, and very beautiful. I fear one day some younger man will come along and you’ll like him more than me or figure out someone younger than me is a better option.” 

Skylar saw the hurt in his eyes and how they glistened. She sat up, cupping his face with her hands. “That will never happen, ever. I don’t want anyone else, I only want you. You and you alone! You’re the only one that I want to spend the rest of my life with, to build a life with and have children with. Moi sladik, nothing will ever change that!” 

Alex quickly wrapped his arms around her in a firm hold, and held her as humanly close as he could. He hated feeling like she would eventually find someone better, someone younger like Glaz. Someone who would be able to grow old with her. Hearing her say that was a load of bullshit and that she wasn’t going anywhere, that she wanted him. It helped ease that nagging anxiety within him, and make him feel more at peace. 

“I love you kotyonok, so much!” 

“I love you too moi sladik, so much!” She closed her eyes, listening to the sound of his heartbeat and smiled. “And nothing will ever change that!”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This came out a lot faster than anticipated. Also the flashback scene is pretty dark and angst-y and I will try and tag it accordingly, but if you feel i missed something please let me know.
> 
> Russian Translation:  
> Kotyonok = Kitten  
> Moi Sladik = My sweetness  
> Ya ne mogu zhit’ bez tebya = I can't live without you  
> Ya tozhe ne mogu zhit bez tebya = I can't live without you too  
> zasranec = asshole

It was finally the night before they boarded another plane for a sixteen hour long flight back to Russia. Skylar was beyond excited to see Alex’s home town, and for whatever surprises he had in store for them, she just wasn’t excited for that long flight and that their vacation was starting to come to a close.

“Remember kotyonok, wear comfortable clothing this time.”

Skylar shot him a glare from her dresser and shook her head. “Shush I’m not making that mistake again, this time I’ll be wearing sweats.”

Alex laughed and set his phone on the bed to watch her rummage through her clothes. She just finished packing for the trip and was now figuring out what to wear for the flight, he never realized she had so many clothes to choose from.

He leaned back against the headboard, a small smile spreading across his face as he thought back on the conversation between him and Carl. He was beyond happy that he got his blessing to propose to Skylar and to his surprise that he was also okay with them having a child so soon. But there was still so much they needed to do before they welcomed any children.

Skylar looked over at him, seeing him stare off into space. “Moi sladik, you okay?”

That seemed to snap him out of it, as he blinked his eyes a few times and settled on her. “I’m fine kotyonok, just thinking.”

She tossed the shirt she had in her hands on the bed and walked over to him, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “About what? Ever since you helped my dad you seem to have a lot on your mind, it makes me curious.”

He sat up a bit, covering her hand with his. “He said he was okay with us having a child so soon in our relationship.”

“Is someone having second thoughts now?” She smiled at him, and arched a brow. “Because I am so okay with it if you are.”

Alex laughed, leaning down to kiss her forehead, his lips lingering against her skin. When he pulled away he met her gaze, a small smile spreading across his face. “Not exactly. We still need to move into a place kotyonok, then maybe after we can discuss adding a child.”

“Hmph.”

He smiled and picked her up, kissing at her neck to make her giggle. He set her beside him so she could snuggle up against him, resting her head on his chest. Alex sighed in content as his fingers traced over her smooth skin.

“Wouldn’t you rather not stress over moving if say, you were pregnant? Kotyonok I’d rather move in first rather then place any added stress onto you.”

“I get that and moving in first is the best option.” She moved her head and looked up at him. “There’s something I need to confess to you.” She moved away from him, bringing her knees up to her chest and hugged them. “I didn’t just lose my squad back when I was a Marine, I lost my child too.”

Alex sat up, his eyes softening as he rubbed up and down her back. “You were pregnant?”

“Yes.” She looked over at him, a small smile spreading across her face. “I found out after the ambush and it was the assholes kid but I didn’t care. I remember sitting in the infirmary just thinking about what I wanted to do, it was no longer about me. Then it happened, the painful cramps and bleeding, then I’m getting told the news I miscarried.”

“I’m sorry kotyonok!” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him, kissing the top of her head. “Thank you for telling me and it makes me understand why you so desperately want to be a mom.”

“Thank you! And I do want to be a mom but it’s not fair to you that I keep trying to push something like that onto you, especially something so big.” She looked up at him an apologetic smile on her face. “I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay, I’ll never blame you for wanting something you’ve lost!” He picked her up, setting her on his lap. “Besides kotyonok, I do plan on making you a mama one day.”

“I know!” She chuckled. “We’re gonna make really cute babies.”

“Our children are going to be perfect!” He wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling his face into her hair. “And very loved!”

Skylar hummed, a small smile forming on her face. “They will! I’m really happy I finally told you about the miscarriage, it feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”

“I’m happy you told me!”

She looked up at him, gazing into his blue eyes. “I love you!”

“I love you too kotyonok!” He leaned down, placing a passionate kiss upon her lips. “Do you have anything else you would like to confess?”

“No.” She laughed. “Well...as much as I hate that it happened, a part of me is happy that it did. I might have never joined Rainbow if I had that child and I would have never met you! And in a way that thought scares me, I already can’t picture my life without you!”

“You don’t know that for sure, you could’ve still joined and we still could’ve ended up together.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” She leaned up giving him a quick kiss before getting off his lap. “I like it when you become very optimistic.”

Skylar grabbed the shirt she tossed onto the bed and went back over to her dresser. She fumbled through her shirts, trying to pick out one that was the perfect amount of loose for the flight tomorrow morning. The joggers she was going to wear were already picked out and placed nicely on her chair.

“Kotyonok, you act like you having a child would deter me away from wanting you.” He leaned back against the headboard, placing both hands behind his head. “Which I think is ridiculous, I would want you either way.”

“I know! Because I’m awesome!” She gave him a cheeky smile and winked at him.

Alex laughed from his spot on the bed, then got up, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her waist and gave her a kiss on the temple. “I won’t argue with that.”

Skylar laughed, leaning her head against his chest. “I can’t wait for tomorrow. I know we have to get up really early, but I can’t wait.”

“Sixteen hours on a flight, sixteen hours where I can barely touch you. I’m not looking forward to that.” He kissed her cheek and let her go. “I am looking forward to showing you around Saint Petersburg though.”

Skylar turned around to face him, a smirk forming across her face. “I’ll make it up to you when we get to Saint Petersburg!”

“You don’t have to kotyonok, it’s my problem I can’t keep my hands off of you.” He rubbed the back of his neck, and looked down. “You don’t mind all the sex we’re having, right?”

The chuckle that escaped her mouth forced him to look at her with a raised brow. She set the shirt she had in her hand back in the drawer than wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up at him. “Moi sladik, I love that you can’t keep your hands off of me and I very much love all the sex we’re having. Besides our relationship isn’t built on it, it’s built on trust, understanding and ...love!”

He wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning down to kiss her forehead. “I just wanted to make sure, since a lot has happened to you by that zasranec.”

“A lot has happened to me because of him, but that’s not going to deter me away from having the best sex of my life as much as possible with the most amazingly loving man I have ever known.”

His hands slid over her ass, grabbing the back of her thighs and lifted her up. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, giggling.

He walked over to the bed and sat down, gazing into her eyes. “Am I really that good kotyonok?”

She softly hummed as his lips traced down the scar, leaving feather kisses against her skin. “Yes, yes you are! You not only stretch me in all the right places, you know what turns me on, what makes me beg and shutter underneath you, crying out your name in pleasure. No one will ever be able to please me like you do!”

“When you put it that way, it makes me very happy I can please my kotyonok so greatly!” He kissed up her scar to her jawline, kissing along her jaw until he came into contact with her lips.

She smiled over at him, and gave him another quick kiss. “As much as I do want to be a mom, having a child so soon would make our very great sex life dwindle quite a bit and I’m not really sure I’m okay with that right now.”

He mirrored her smile, moving some strands of chestnut hair out of her face. “It would only dwindle for a little bit. It would go back to normal after the child is born and you’re healed, kotyonok.”

“Maybe.” She lifted and dropped her shoulders. “It’s just now that I’ve told you about the miscarriage, I suddenly don’t want a child right now and am perfectly happy with waiting and enjoying it being just us.”

“I think your mind was stuck on the fact that with all the sex we’re having you could have another accidental pregnancy so you made yourself believe you wanted a child a lot sooner than you want.”

He kissed her forehead, then laid down on his back - bringing her down with him to lay on his chest and rubbed up and down her back. She sighed in content, a small smile spreading across her face. Sometimes she would forget how quickly Alex could figure out an answer for whatever problem that arises, even if it might not be fully true.

She moved her body off of him a bit to get a better look at him. “That does make perfect sense now that you mention it. Even though I made sure I used a form of birth control that was harder to fail me and we use condoms, there’s still that little fear it might happen again.”

Alex gazed into her hazel eyes, his hand coming up to cup the side of her face. She nuzzled into his touch, and sighed. “And if it does happen at some point in our relationship, you wouldn’t have to worry about it. Kotyonok I would be a hundred percent okay with it.”

“You would?”

“Da!” He sat up, wrapping his arms back around her and pulled her closer to him. “It doesn’t matter if our children are conceived on purpose or not, they will still be loved and well taken care of!”

Skylar didn’t say anything, she just wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. Closing her eyes she thought back on one of the worst nights she had with her past ‘lover’, the tears slowly started to seep from the corners of her eyes.

She pulled away, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and met his gaze.

“Alex, you’ll never know how much of a saving angel you are to me!”

His blue eyes softened, then he maneuvered them both into a lying down position on the bed, where she snuggled up against him, fisting the shirt he was wearing. Whatever memory that came back was haunting her and Alex hated to see the pain and sadness in her eyes.

“Explain it to me kotyonok, please?”

Skylar took a deep breath, nodding her head. “Okay.”

_Four and a half years ago……._

_Skylar leaned against some crates as she uncapped her water and took a sip. The Afghanistan heat was a nightmare to deal with, even when night fell and wearing almost fifty pounds of gear didn’t help. Luckily her shift was almost over and she could shower and change._

_She looked up, seeing the stars in the sky. A smile started to form on her face by how beautiful it looked, it was something she wouldn’t be able to see back in Bangor. The only plus side of being deployed in the desert._

_“Beautiful isn’t?”_

_She twisted the cap back onto her water and set it down. “It is, I wish I got this view back home.”_

_“Me too.” Molly leaned against the crate next to her, sighing. “I suspect you’ll be seeing him tonight after your shift?”_

_Skylar could hear the detest in her voice, making her looked down at the rocks and sand below her boots. “Yeah.”_

_Molly moved to stand in front of her, taking both hands into her own, forcing Skylar to look up at her. “I love you like a sister Skylar and if it wasn’t for strict military protocol I would have killed that son-of-a-bitch for placing his hands on you long ago.” Skylar’s face faltered, forcing a small smile from Molly. “Don’t think I don’t know about the bruises, I know that’s why you take forever in the mornings to get ready, you’re trying to cover them up.”_

_“I’ll lose my job if I do.”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“If I stop sleeping with him he’ll make sure his dad has me discharged.” She let go of her hands and turned around to lean against the crates and hang her head. “And it doesn’t help that he scares me.”_

_Molly walked over to her, placed her hand on her back. “Henry is an asshole, his father is an asshole and he couldn’t get you discharged anyways. He would have to go to the higher ups and they don’t have anything on you. I hate seeing you coming back during the night completely drained and in pain. I’m not going to force you to stop this, I just hate what he’s doing to you.”_

_Skylar turned her head to look at her, her hazel eyes glistening. “Let me think about it, I don’t need to give him an extra excuse to beat me some more.”_

_She nodded, but there was a sense of sadness in her eyes. “Okay.”_

_After her shift was over Skylar took a quick shower and started to get ready to head over to Henry’s room. Thanks to his dad he didn’t share it with anyone meaning she couldn’t really come up with an excuse on why she didn’t come, and if she didn’t show up, the consequences would be ...bad._

_She looked in the mirror seeing the bruise on her left eye that has started to fade to a sickly yellow. All it took was for her to be ten minutes late to get slapped in the face, hard enough to throw her to the ground. The next morning she had a decent sized black eye, luckily it’s been healing quite well and fast._

_She sighed, looking down at her body. There were a few hickey’s covering her breasts and more bruises the size of his fingers covering her hips. Henry was a less than gentle person, truthfully he got off on her pain and it didn’t help that he was over a foot taller than her and very muscular. It was a lose, lose situation when she was in bed with him._

_She didn’t care about the other bruises, those she could cover up, the one by her eye she couldn’t. Then again she could just cover it up as a training accident, a weapons kick. No one would question that._

_Skylar took a deep breath, putting her hair up into a high ponytail and headed out into her room to get dressed. Opting for a pair of sweats and a t-shirt since her clothes would be quick to come off._

_Once she was dressed she headed out the door._

_As she turned the corner heading towards Henry’s room she saw him at his door in full gear, looking like he just got done working which meant she was in for a long few hours. She took another deep breath and walked over to him with a small smile on her face._

_“Find any action out there?”_

_“No.” He scoffs. “But I’m gonna find a hell of a lot of action right now.”_

_She looked down, fiddling with her hands. She hated how he only saw her as someone to sleep with and nothing else, how she would lay in bed listening to him rant and ramble about his day only to have him shut her up about hers. Maybe Molly is right, maybe she should stop it. “I don’t think I want to do this anymore Henry.”_

_“What was that?” He placed the key inside the lock and turned it, opening his door._

_“I said, I don’t want to sleep with you anymore.” She looked up at him, meeting his icy stare that sent a shiver down her spine._

_Henry turned the doorknob, opening his door more, then roughly grabbed her arm and shoved her inside. Her heart started racing as she turned to him, seeing him shut and locked the door behind him._

_She wanted to move away from him, far away, but her feet wouldn’t move. Next thing she felt was a hand across her face that sent her to the floor. She could easily taste the metallic taste of blood on her tongue. Bringing her hand up to her lip, when she pulled it back she could see the crimson on her hand._

_He walked over to her, slowly, like a predator stalking its prey and knelt down. “You don’t get to say I stop fucking you, I only do.” He stood up, taking off his vest and set it down against the wall, then turned back to her. “And right now, that perfectly sculpted ass of yours is mine.”_

_Skylar narrowed her brows at him and slapped him across the face. She didn’t know where the sudden confidence came from but she immediately regretted it when his hand wrapped around her throat, picking her up and tossing her onto his bed. Before she had time to react he was on top of her, pinning her arms above her head. She wiggled trying to get free of his grasps._

_“Let me go asshole.”_

_“Why should I do that?” He leaned down until he was next to her ear, sneaking his hand between her legs, making her squirm even more. “You were very stupid for slapping me Jackson, I think I need to teach you some dicipline.”_

_“Henry get the fuck off of me.” She wiggled some more, almost getting her hands free of his grasp until she saw him pull his knife out. Her eyes went wide, tears welling in them and she stopped her struggling._

_He placed the blade against her skin, tracing down from her collarbone to the band of her sweats. He finally let her arms go, knowing she was far too scared to move. The knife went under her shirt, hiking the fabric up. He looked down at her hips, seeing his own work on them and smugly smiled._

_Her heart was beating a mile a minute, every single fiber of her being was telling her to flea, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t move, hell she could barely breathe._

_Henry dug the tip of the blade into her flesh, drawing blood. She yelped in pain as he dragged it down her lower stomach, stopping at her hip bone. “My father keeps telling me I’m getting old and I should find a nice girl to settle down with and continue the family name. Old.” He scoffs. “I’m only thirty-two. I never really listened to him about that crap, but you’re young, you have a lot of child bearing years ahead of you. So I think I’ll obliged this time.”_

_He placed his knife back in it’s case, then leaned down until his head was right by her ear. “And there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”_

_Present time……_

“After an excruciating four hours I had Molly patch me up and hide my birth control. Because there was no fucking way I was going to have that monster’s child, but then I got pregnant anyways.” She brought her knees up to her chest and curled in on herself, feeling the tears well in her eyes. “I never told anyone the true extent of his abuse, if I told my parents’ this, it would’ve killed them. But I needed to tell you.”

When she turned to look at him, she saw something she never thought she would. His blue eyes dulled to gray, and the color of his skin paled, he looked completely broken.

Alex got up from the bed, pacing around the room speaking in Russian. Skylar watched him, seeing his face contorted in anger and fists clenched. Seeing him so riled up was both enticing and scary. If they were on base she was sure there would be a hole in the wall by now. She let go of her legs and sat up a bit straighter, holding out her hand. “Moi sladik!”

He stopped and turned to her, that’s when she saw the tears in his eyes. Skylar motioned for him to come sit by her and he easily obliged. When he took his spot next to her, she wrapped her arms around her neck, resting her head on his shoulder. Next thing she knew she found herself in a firm, yet gentle hug from him.

“Kotyonok, I’m so so sorry! I never imagined you went through something so horrible, and you will never have to worry anymore. As long as I am alive, you will always be safe and most importantly loved!” Alex closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath - his grip around her tightening like he was afraid of losing her. He’s seen the scar from the story so many times now he lost count, now hearing the story on how she got it broke his heart. “I will never ever hurt you, I promise!”

“I know, I know you would never hurt me.” She pulled away from him, wiping the tears from her eyes. “The worst thing about it all was that I was nineteen. I was so young and to think I could potentially be married and have a family with him right now if certain things never happened scares the absolute life out of me. And as much as I hate losing that child, I’m happy I did because if he found out ...I I rather not think about it.”

Alex leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together. To now know that the woman on his lap, the love of his life went through so much trauma in such a short amount of time made his blood boil. Skylar was such a loving and caring person and to know someone took advantage of her and abused her that much made him disgusted. And as much as he hopes they’ll never cross paths again, a part of him wants to because he’ll show Henry what it’s like being afraid.

“Kotyonok you were so young and I don’t want to think about what your life would be like with him, it hurts too much to even think about.” He moved away slightly to kiss her forehead and brought her in for another hug. “I’m beyond grateful you got away and have giving me a chance! No wonder why you freaked out after we slept together for the first time.”

“I am too! You’ve given me so much hope and love and to see how much my life has changed for the better is a miracle. At that time I didn’t see a way out, I truly thought I would be stuck with him for the rest of my life. I just wish I didn’t have to lose so much to finally leave.”

“I love you kotyonok! And I’m sure Molly would be ecstatic knowing you’re free from him.”

“I love you too moi sladik!” She kissed his temple and moved away and sighed. “She would and she would be ecstatic knowing I found someone who treats me like a queen.”

“No lord should be without his queen!”

A huge grin covered her face and she laughed. “Very true! Too bad we couldn’t live like royalty.”

“Maybe in another lifetime!”

“Mmm.” Her eyes averted down for a brief moment, and a small smile formed on her face as she met his gaze again. “Thank you, for everything! If it wasn’t for you I might have never let those walls down and probably be alone forever because it sounded a lot better than potentially being abused again. And now I don’t think I could live without you!”

“If it makes you feel any better kotyonok, I will never be able to live without you! Now that you told me about the abuse, what made you change your mind?”

“After the abuse I became very wary of men because Henry never showed signs of being abusive until he knew I was ‘faithful’, then his whole attitude changed. And that made me scared, so I distanced myself as best as I could for the past four years. But then it hit me one day, am I really going to live my life like this because one person traumatized me for life? Not everyone is going to be abusive, so I decided to slowly ease back into it, which of course was hard to break out of habit. Then I got the call and I thought joining Rainbow would be the fresh start I needed, that clean slate and it was. The moment I met you I felt safe and comfortable, something I haven’t felt in years. I couldn’t ignore that and the more we got to know each other over the past five months my feelings for you changed and having a crush after four years was an interesting feeling. “ She chuckles. “There was something inside me telling me you would never hurt me and it’s true. Even though I freaked out after we slept together that first time I’m really glad it happened because if it didn’t who knows if we would be together right now!”

Alex’s face softened, he moved a few strands of hair behind her ear, cupping the side of her face. She leaned into the gesture, a small smile spreading across her face as he leaned forward placing a passionate kiss upon her lips. She smiled into it, giggling as he tried to deepen it - pulling away he looked at her and laughed.

“Kotyonok!”

“I’m sorry, I’m just happy!”

“I am too!” He kissed her again and flipped their positions. “Now lets see if I can make the kotyonok extra happy.”

xXx

Waking up at three in the morning to get ready for a five in the morning flight was less than enticing.

Skylar walked out of the bathroom rubbing her tired eyes. “Maybe you shouldn’t have made me extra happy last night. Now I’m extra tired.”

She walked over and collapsed face first into the unmade bed. Alex, who was already dressed and ready to go laughed and laid down next to her. “You can sleep on the plane.”

“What if I don’t want to sleep on the plane?”

“Then you don’t have too!”

He leaned over kissing her temple, she hummed in reply. Ever since last night Alex had a newfound respect and love for her. Not that he didn’t respect or love her before, but finding out what she truly suffered and how she came out on the other side still compassionate, kind and loving made him fall for her even more. Skylar is officially the strongest woman he knows and no one will ever be able to top that.

It wasn’t just his newfound respect and love he found out last night, but how their relationship shifted. She seemed more bubbly and full of life, like that suppressed memory was holding her back because she was so afraid. She built up walls to protect herself, only to fully let them down for him and he’ll never take that or her for granted! Now she could truly be her loving self.

“I would but I can’t sleep on planes. And I would rather spend those sixteen hours talking with you.” She propped her head up on her elbow and smiled over at him.

“You talk with me everyday.” He chuckles. “You don’t need to stay up with me if you’re tired.”

“Maybe I want to talk with you everyday Alexsandr.” She moved over to lay across his chest. “For the first time in a long time, my life is better than my dreams.”

“It was only a suggestion kotyonok.” He gave her a small smile and rubbed up and down her arm. “I can understand that perfectly, because it’s the same for me too.”

Skylar yawned and got off him, fixing her top knot. “I know.” She looked down at the sheets and sighed. “Now that I told you about what happened between me and Henry, I used to be so afraid of him finding me again. And in a way I still am, it also doesn’t help that he's from Maine. Which I guess is one of the main reasons I was so excited to be joining Rainbow, we wouldn’t be in the same country. Even though I have no clue where he is right now.”

Alex sat up, his brows narrowing into a line. “You will never have to worry about him again kotyonok. I will make sure he never touches you!”

Her face softened and she jumped into his arms. “Thank you!”

His hand cupped the back of her head and he closed his eyes. It made him wonder how long she’s been looking over her shoulder, waiting to see him somewhere. Living in fear that he would show up at her doorstep one day. That was no way to live.

“I love you Skylar and I will protect you with everything I have!”

Her arms around him tightened and tears started to well in her eyes. Four years she spent living in fear, waiting for that day where Henry would find her again. She moved away from him, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

“It took me twenty-four years to find the love of my life, and four years to stop being afraid. It never seemed possible, until it happened!”

“You had every right to be afraid, look at what he did to you. After finding out what he did to you, I feel terrible over the hookup at the holiday party.”

Skylar placed her hand on top of his, and shook her head. “No, don’t be. I was sober enough to know what I was doing and I wanted to sleep with you because I knew you wouldn’t hurt me in any way. Besides, that night was really really really good! It felt nice to be wanted again, something I haven’t had since I was seventeen.”

“It was really really really good, wasn’t it?” A small smile started to spread across his face and he leaned down to kiss her. “Kotyonok, I will always want you! And seventeen? It sounds like you were with someone at the time?”

She laughed at the hint of jealousy in his voice, it was cute that he was jealous of someone she hasn’t really seen since she joined the Marines. “I was with someone at that time. His name was Wyatt and he was a lot like you, kind, compassionate, loving. Our breakup was mutual, I was going into the military and he was going off to college and it seemed better to go our separate ways than to try and make things work because at that time neither of us knew how.”

He nodded. “So he was good to you?”

“Very!”

“That’s all I need to know.”

Skylar laughed and shook her head as she got off the bed. “We should get going or we’ll miss our flight.”

He groaned as he got off the bed and stretched. “Yes, kotyonok!”

xXx

Alex carefully maneuvered himself in his seat, trying to get comfortable. They’ve already been flying for about six hours and he was getting pretty uncomfortable and he wasn’t about to wake Skylar up since she was sleeping soundly against him. He must have really tired her out last night if she fell asleep on a plane.

As she slept his mind wondered. How many of the scars on her body were from Henry and not work? And what else he did to her. He wanted to know, even if he tore his heart straight from his chest, but he would never ask her to tell him. She was the one that suffered by him after all. He’ll wait until she’s willing to tell him and he’ll be ready to listen.

He tightened his arm that was wrapped around her and kissed the top of her head. The other thing that consumed his mind was proposing. It was taking every single ounce of strength he had not to pop the question. He wanted to make the proposal romantic and he wanted to make sure she wasn’t expecting it, this was something he wanted to make a surprise.

Skylar started to move, and mumbled. He moved his arm to let her sit up and stretch, then she turned to him with a small smile on her face. “How long was I asleep for?”

He checked his watch, then looked back at her. “About an hour and a half.”

“Shit. I didn’t expect to fall asleep for that long.”

“Like you said, I wore you out last night.” He smirked, making her scoff. “Did you have a good nap?’

“Can’t complain. You make a good pillow though.”

“I’m glad I could be of service to you, kotyonok.”

She rolled her eyes and chuckled, then turned her attention to the window. She couldn’t see much besides clouds, making her wonder what they were flying over right now. Water or land?

She turned her attention back to him, and that’s when he saw the curious look in her eyes. “Do you think I would be able to get into Spetsnaz if I tried?”

His eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat, and he moved closer to her. “Kotyonok, I think you would get into the Spetsnaz if you tired. I beg you not too, I do not want you to go through that training.”

“I wasn’t actually going too moi sladik, I was just curious.” She leaned over giving him a quick peck on the lips. “The Marines have the hardest basic training and I wondered if I could get into Spetsnaz.”

She watched him visibly relax, making her chuckle. “That’s good to hear, you almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Oh you poor thing.” She leaned closer to him, the palm of her hand finding the fabric to the front of his pants. “I’ll make it up to you in ten or so hours.” She gave him a cheeky smile and retracted her hand from the front of his pants. The audible whine of disapproval that escaped his mouth made her chuckled. “I do love turning you on so easily. Just a single touch.”

“It’s hard not to get turned on by you kotyonok!” He gave her a small smirk, placing his hand on her thigh. “And how would you make it up to me Sky?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know yet. I’ll figure it out during the flight.”

Alex laughed and retracted his hand from her thigh. “Okay kotyonok!”

xXx

Alex watched Skylar in pure admiration as she looked upon all the Christmas lights that lines the streets while they were stopped at a red light. She looked like a little kid in a candy store.

“It’s so beautiful!” She turned back to him with a smile gracing her face. “I think we should spend Christmas here every year. With a quick trip back to Maine to see my family.”

“It is, I’m surprised they’re still up!” The light turned green, forcing his attention back to the road. “If that’s what you want to do, I’m fine with it.”

She nodded and went back to looking out the window. The whole city was lit up with beautiful white, green, red and blue lights, and it looked a lot better than Bangor. It made her kind of envious but it also put her in the spirit, even if Christmas was last week.

Not long after they made it to his place, she looked up at the tall building with the balcony’s pointing towards the street. Making her wonder which floor he lived on, but when she turned to him she saw the uncertainty on his face.

“Moi sladik, you okay?” She angled her body to face him and covered his hand with hers.

“It feels weird being back, that’s all.” He gave her a reassuring smile, then kissed her forehead.

“Understandable. I’m sure this week will be great!”

“Everyday I spend with you is great, kotyonok!”

She slightly blushed under his gaze and smiled, loving how much her life has changed for the better. And to be with someone so caring and loving again, it made her feel all bubbly inside.

“I love you and can we go inside please? I’m getting cold.”

“I love you too and da, we can.”

They both got out of the car, Skylar grabbed her carry-on from the backseat while he grabbed their other bags. She wasn’t going to bring her carry-on, but changed her mind last minute when she wanted to bring a few extra things back to base with her. Most of the stuff was her drawing supplies and the stuffed shark she bought back in Maine.

She followed him inside, glancing around the lobby. There wasn’t much, just a few chairs, the little mailboxes and a few benches with some of those fake plants laid out around.

They made their way up to the sixth floor, eventually stopping at his door. She watched him unlock his door, pushing it opened and with a blind hand find the switch on the wall. He let her go in first, her eyes darting all around. The kitchen was to the left of the door, it was a decent size for an apartment, the living room took up most of the floor, she loved the openness of it, and across from the kitchen was another room. It looked like it was supposed to be intended for a dining room, but Alex had another use for it.

Her mouth fell when she saw his Degtyaryov and Mosin-Nagant collection, making him smile. “Holy shit!”

She set her carry-on bag by the door and walked over to them, glancing at each one. Alex made this space his personal workshop, there was a table in the middle, and he had a few storage containers against the wall, that probably had parts and other supplies in them.

“This is incredible Alex!” She walked closer to the M1891 rifle “How did you get your hands on this? The Mosin-Nagant M1891 is rare, most of these were sold to American’s before World War II and the rest were either captured by German’s, Austro-Hungarian or sold to Finland.”

He set their bags down, walking up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her cheek. “Kotyonok, you never cease to amaze me!”

She chuckled, and leaned her head back against his chest. “I’m a history buff.”

“You can hold it if you want.”

She moved her head off of his chest, and looked up at him. “Are you serious?”

“Da, I told you you could back on base, kotyonok.”

“I know, it’s just I know how you are with your guns and it wouldn't have bothered me if you said I couldn’t touch them.”

“You are the only one I trust with my guns.” He gave her a reassuring smile, that she mirrored. “Go on, I know you want too.”

The smile on her face grew bigger as she walked towards it, carefully taking it off the wall and brought it up to her shoulder. She looked down the sight like she would if she was normally using it, finger off the trigger. “Wow, this is incredible! It feels nice holding something so rare, not counting you of course!”

When she looked over at him, she saw he had his phone in his hand and he was smiling down at it. “Let me see.”

He walked over to her and showed her the picture. “It looks good on you! I’m rare, huh?”

“Very rare, the rarest of them all!” She laughed and leaned up to give him a quick peck on the lips. “That’s an okay picture, but I think you should take one of me actually posing.”

Alex laughed and shook his head, getting his phone ready as she got into her pose, then he snapped it. As he looked down at it, he smiled, it never once crossed his mind he would ever find some he trusts enough to handle his guns. Now he has a picture to prove it.

Skylar place the gun back on the wall mount and turned to him. “I want to see the picture please.” He turned the phone her way, and she nodded in approval. “Perfect!”

He placed his phone back in his pocket, grabbed her hand and pulled her to the couch. He sat down first, then pulled her onto his lap, kissing at her neck. She giggled, sliding off his lap down to the small section exposed before the arm of the couch. Looking around the room, there wasn’t much decor, that she expected. Just a coffee table, a TV mounted on a wall with a medium size TV stand below it, and a small table next to the couch with a lamp and a picture on it.

“I like it here, it nice and cozy and I’ve been wondering what Russian apartments looked like ever since you’ve told me you had one.”

“It’s not much, just four walls and a roof. I’m glad you like it though kotyonok!”

Her face softened, and she grabbed his hand and held it in hers. “I know growing up wasn’t easy, you had a strict father without many things and I can see it stayed with you into adulthood. You’re not materialistic and in a way that’s good, you won’t horde things. But that doesn’t mean you can’t change. This may be just four walls and a roof to you, to me it’s home. This is where we’ll be staying when were in Saint Petersburg, a lot more good memories will be made here. And hopefully it’ll cancel out all the bad ones you have for this place.”

“There not bad memories, just bland. That is true about what you said, new memories will be made here.” He looked away, and sighed. “When we were with your family, you had a life I always dreamed about having. And it made me want to do better, to be better. Not just for me, for you, for our future children. I just don’t know where to start.”

He looked back over at her, his eyes conveying a mix of emotions that tugged at her heart. She moved off the couch for a brief second to straddle him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissed his forehead.

“What do you mean about being better?”

“My parents’ were married until my dad died, but they were never happy and in love like your parents’ are. Da, they did love each other and made things work as best they could. I don’t want our marriage to be like that, where we’re together out of habit rather than being together for true love. How do I make that happen? How do I make sure we won’t fall out of love in the future?”

“Moi sladik, I don’t think our marriage will be like that. We already have a healthy relationship, and that’s not going to change. If you want, call my dad and ask how he and my mom have stayed married and in love for so long. I’m sure he’ll be happy to tell you!” She gave him a reassuring that smile, and a quick peck on the lips. “Also I would never fall out of love with you! That would be like me swearing off my mom’s cookies, it ain’t gonna happen.”

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest as he lay back against the couch, rubbing up and down her back. He let out a content sigh, holding onto her a little tighter. He knew she was right and he probably should call her father and ask because he wasn’t going to let his marriage suffer like his parents’ did. Once he says ‘I do’ he’ll mean it and make sure everything works out. For him, for Skylar, and for their children.

“You’re right kotyonok, our marriage won’t be like that because I won’t let it. I made a promise to you and I plan on keeping it!”

Skylar’s hand came up to touch the dog tag, a small smile spreading across her face. Lifting her head up, she crushed their lips together, humming into it. Alex gave an audible whine when she pulled away and got off his lap, holding out her hand. “You still haven’t given me the full house tour, moi sladik.”

He let out one of his booming laughs and took her hand. Hand-in-hand he walked her to his bedroom, opening the door for her to see.

The first thing you saw was a queen size bed, a nightstand on each side and a dresser on the right side of the room. There was also a balcony off of the bedroom, that she just loved. She could picture herself sitting out there when the weather was warmer with a cup of tea and her journal.

She let go of his hand when a picture caught her eye, walking over she picked it up and examined it. “You look so young! Was this Nikolai?”

Skylar looked over at him to see him nodding his head and walking over to her. “That was long ago.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he’s happy for you!” She set the picture back down and turned to him. “I wasn’t calling you old by the way.”

“I hope he is, he would have liked you.”

Skylar sat down on the bed, feeling the cotton blanket beneath her fingers. Alex joined her a moment later. He was being unusually quiet and that worried her.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I can sense there’s something wrong, moi sladik.” When he didn’t say anything she moved up the bed, laying against the headboard. “Come here.”

He looked over at her with confusion on his face. “What?”

“Come here.” She motioned for him to come closer, and he did, snuggling up against her and resting his head on her chest. She threaded her fingers through his blonde hair, hearing him hum. “Alex if there’s something wrong I would like to know. I won’t force you to tell me though.”

The arm that was wrapped around her waist tightened, pulling her closer to him. “I lied to you kotyonok.”

“About what?”

He looked up at her through hooded eyes, expecting to hear some anger in her voice, yet he didn’t. She was calm. “I’m not an only child, I have a younger sister. Her name is Anna, she’s a doctor, married and has a few kids. We don’t have a good relationship anymore.”

Skylar kissed the top of his head, and continued threading her fingers through his hair. “I’m not mad you didn’t tell me about her, but I’m happy you did. Is that why you’ve been acting this way since we got here? Are you nervous we might see her why we’re here?”

“Da.”

“Why?” She chuckled. “Does it have to do with me?”

“No, never.” He moved away from her, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. “My sister and I had very different ideas of what life should be like. She wanted to make sure her children had everything they desired and more, I didn’t agree with that. I might have been too adamant on my opinion and that pushed her away. That was twelve years ago, when she had her son.” He fully sat up, picking at the blanket. “After that we only talked during the holidays or birthdays, then it stopped all together. I was the one in the wrong and I never apologized for it.”

She sat up, grabbing his hand and placing it in hers. “There’s still time for you to apologize, tell her everything that made you change your mind and that you were wrong. I’m sure she’ll appreciate that, and I bet she would like her kids to know their uncle. Do it when you feel ready.”

He nodded. “Do you think she would even accept my apology? It’s been over a decade.”

“I do! You’re her brother Alex, I’m sure deep down she misses you. And yeah, you two had a falling out, but it wasn’t a terrible one. You were just an asshole.”

Alex chuckled, a small smile forming on his face. “I was, wasn’t I?”

“Yes you were.” She mirrored his smile and leaned forward to kiss his lips. “I think the best thing to do is to apologize and figure things out from there.”

“Okay, I’ll apologize.”

“Good!” She laid back down, motioning for him to join her. “Now come here, moi sladik!”

Alex laughed and returned to his original spot, snuggled up against her. She went back to threading her fingers in his hair, making him hum in reply. They stayed quiet, the only thing you could hear was their breathing or the occasional sigh. Then she felt his hand sneak below the band of her sweats, a small smirk forming on her face the lower he got.

She would let him have his fun ...for now.

As he inched closer to her womanhood, she spread her legs apart to give him better access. When his cool fingers touched her womanhood she gasped, feeling a shiver run down her spine. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Hopefully my girlfriend in the next few minutes!” He looked up at her with a smirk, making her smile.

Skylar pushed him down on the bed, and straddled him. Running her hands down his broad chest, stopping at the band of his pants and rolled her hips - hearing a low grunt come from him. “What are you waiting for?”

Alex crushed their lips together and flipped their position once more.

xXx

Both of them were snuggled under the covers post-coitus watching some Russian movie that was on. It was something he had seen plenty of times, but to see Skylar mesmerized by it was cute, her eyes never left the TV.

As she watched the movie his thought about what they were going to do tomorrow. The first thing would be to call his sister and apologize, hoping she’ll accept it. Because he does want to introduce Skylar to his sister at some point.

Tomorrow he was thinking about showing her around the city, and the places he and his family used to frequent growing up. Skylar was right, this will be their home a few weeks out of the year and it’s best to make it feel like home, rather just four walls and a roof.

He leaned down, kissing her forehead. “I love you, kotyonok!”

She turned her attention from the TV to him, a smile spreading across her face. “I love you too, moi sladik!”

His blue eyes softened under gaze, making her leaned up and give him a kiss. “Thank you kotyonok, for everything! You gave my life more meaning and I’m entirely grateful you’re mine!”

“You don’t need to thank me, moi sladik! Life hasn’t been kind to either of us, yet we found each other and I have never been more happy and in love! And you already know I’m entirely grateful you’re mine too!”

“Ya ne mogu zhit’ bez tebya koyonok! And I don’t ever want too.”

“Ya tozhe ne mogu zhit bez tebya moi sladik! And you never will!” 


End file.
